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COSIllIBUTIONS 


TO 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION 


45589 


BY 


WILLIAM  H.  PAYNE,  A.M. 

PROFESSOR   OF    THE    SCTENCB    AND    THE    ART    OP    TEACHING    IX   THE    USIVERSITT   OF 

MICHIGAN;    AUTHOR  OF   "CHAPTERS  ON  SCHOOL  SCPERVISIOS "   AND    "ODT- 

LIXES  OP  EDUCATIONAL  DOCTRINE;"  EDITOR  OF  *' PAGE'S  THEORY 

AND  PRACTICE  OF  TEACHING;"  AND  TRANSLATOR  OP  COM- 

FATR£'3  "HISTOIRE  DB  LA  PEDAGOGIB " 


NEW    YORK 
HARPER  &   BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN   SQUARE 

1887 


Copyright,  1886,  by  Habpeb  &  Brothers. 


AU  ri^  T*—ntd, 


library 

LB 


INTRODUCTION. 


Of  the  three  phases  of  educational  stiidj,  the  historical, 
the  practical,  and  the  scientific,  it  is  the  last  wliicli  I  pro- 
pose to  discuss  in  the  papers  composing  this  volume. 
The  question  of  method  is  of  very  high  importance,  but 
the  final  test  of  metliod  is  doctrine.  The  history  of  edu- 
cation, or  of  the  manifold  attempts  that  have  been  made 
to  solve  the  educational  problem,  is  of  supreme  impor- 
tance, but  experiences  and  experiments  can  be  interpreted 
and  estimated  only  by  the  light  of  science.  The  ques- 
tion of  educational  doctrine  is  therefore  fundamental. 

It  is  a  hopeful  sign  of  progress  in  education  that  we 
are  now  fairly  entering  upon  the  discussion  of  principles 
and  doctrines.  Hitherto  there  has  been  a  discussion  of 
methods,  often  without  a  criterion,  and  even  when  a 
standard  of  values  has  been  proposed,  the  final  test  has  y 
been  success  or  failure;  but  reflection  shows  that  the 
only  absolute  criterion  is  principle  or  law.  And  so  we 
observe  that  in  the  press  and  in  the  convention  there  is  a 
growing  disposition  to  carry  an  appeal  to  the  court  of 
last  resort,  educational  science. 

Every  author  who  records  his  serious  convictions  and  the 
results  of  his  deliberate  thinkinor  doubtless  owes  it  to  his 


vi  INTRODUCTION. 

readei-s  to  forewarn  them  of  the  main  ideas  that  inspire 
his  efforts.  Such  a  clew  is  the  more  necessary  in  a  vol- 
ume of  detached  essays  like  those  which  follow,  at)d  I 
bespeak  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  following  state- 
ments, both  as  an  aid  to  himself  and  as  an  act  of  cour- 
teous justice  to  me. 

I  am  in  nowise  disposed  to  break  with  the  past  and  to 
dream  of  an  approaching  revolution  in  educational  theory 
and  practice.  A  better  future  for  the  schools  is  doubt- 
less foreordained,  but  this  is  to  be  a  growth,  slow  and 
halting,  like  all  higher  forms  of  growth,  and  a  growth  out 
of  past  conditions  and  products.  The  institutions  of  a 
people,  to  be  serviceable  and  helpful,  cannot  be  far  in 
advance  of  their  actual  condition ;  and  if  the  dream  of 
the  educational  utopist  could  be  realized  in  form,  it 
would  be  inoperative  with  men  and  things  as  they  are. 
It  is  well  that  our  previsions  are  only  relative.  We  need 
to  aspire  in  order  that  we  may  grow ;  but  the  roots  of  all 
true  growth  in  civilization  reach  far  back  into  the  soil  of 
the  past. 

Since  the  human  mind  has  been  studied  by  the  acutest 
thinkers  of  all  ages  and  countries,  and  since  the  ■wisest 
and  the  best  of  men  have  been  working  at  the  educational 
problem  under  all  conceivable  conditions,  ethnic,  social, 
civil,  and  religious,  1  find  it  impossible  to  believe  that  all 
this  mighty  effort  must  go  for  naught,  and  that  educa- 
tional science  must  be  constructed  de  novo.  That  the  main 
data  for  the  establishment  of  a  rational  art  of  educating 
are  now  to  be  found  in  the  current  systems  of  philosophy 
and  psychology  seems  to  me  the  most  probable  of  infer- 


INTRODUCTION.  yJJ 

ences ;  and  that  there  really  exist  a  sufficient  number  of 
sncli  data  to  lay  the  fouudations  of  a  science  of  education 
seems  to  me  the  most  palpable  of  truths.  For  these 
reasons  may  we  not  think  that  the  present  duty  of  the 
educational  thinker  is  to  select  and  collate  data  already 
established,  and  to  draw  from  them  the  rules  for  practice  ? 
It  is  within  this  field  that  I  have  attempted  to  work,  and 
in  the  discussions  that  follow  I  have  tried  to  do  scarcely 
more  than  to  illustrate  and  enforce  what  appear  to  be 
well-established  and  fundamental  tniths. 

Perhaps  the  term  tacking  will  best  describe  the  current 
mode  of  educational  progress ;  in  his  recoil  from  what 
seems  to  be  a  serious  error  in  schoolroom  practice,  the 
reformer  catches  hold  of  some  neglected  truth,  concen- 
trates his  whole  soul  on  his  new  discovery,  denounces  the 
whole  existing  order  of  things  as  irretrievably  bad,  and 
by  his  declamation  incites  the  unthinking  and  the  mal- 
content to  a  revolution  in  methods.  Finally  the  grain  of 
wheat  is  winnowed  from  the  bushel  of  chaff,  and  the 
pendulum  of  opinion  swings  back  towards  the  abandoned 
truth.  In  the  absence  of  well- settled  principles  these 
epidemics  will  always  be  imminent;  but  with  even  a  few 
fundamental  doctrines  distinctly  recognized,  it  would  be 
possible  to  make  progress  in  an  orderly  and  rational  man- 
ner. Any  mode  of  reform  that  feels  obliged  to  appeal  to 
popular  prejudice  rather  than  to  the  reflective  reason  is 
open  to  suspicion  and  distrust.  Nearly  every  one  of  the 
so-called  "  basic  principles "  bears  the  ear-mark  of  some 
infatuation.  Each  of  them  expresses  the  half  of  a  truth, 
but  with  such  distortion  and  exaggeration  as  to  be  a  vir- 


viii  INTRODUCTION. 

tual  untruth.  It  is  a  safe  rule  to  suspect  every  aphorism 
that  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of  an  over-ardent  reformer. 

Methodical  teaching,  even  if  it  be  mechanical,  is  much 
superior  to  aimless  teaching;  and  so  there  was  an  un- 
deniable gain  when  exact  method  was  made  an  essential 
part  of  a  teacher's  professional  preparation.  But  we  in- 
cur a  grave  danger  when  we  impose  on  a  teacher  a  specific 
rule  of  action  divorced  from  the  principle  that  is  its  jus- 
tification. Contrasted  with  a  principle,  a  rule  is  undis- 
criminating,  narrowing,  unfruitful ;  and  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  systematic  training  in  method  has  a  tendency 
to  rob  the  teacher  of  his  freedom,  his  versatility,  and  his 
personal  power.  Metliod  has  an  incomparable  value 
when  it  directs  capitalized  energy,  wisdom,  and  culture; 
but  method  is  taught  at  some  sacrifice  of  scholarship  and 
culture  when  it  accompanies  a  teacher's  instruction  in 
subjects  and  is  made  a  characteristic  element  in  his  couree 
of  study. 

Freedom  and  power  must  come  from  a  much  higher 
source.  Teaching  is  a  purely  spiritual  art,  and  the  higher 
manifestations  of  this  power  are  as  dependent  on  inspira- 
tion as  poetry,  eloquence,  and  art  are.  I  have  seen  teach- 
ing that  was  artistic  in  the  same  sense  that  music  and 
painting  are  artistic.  The  sources  of  such  power  doubt- 
less lie  in  large  measure  in  a  happy  constitution  of  soul 
that  is  quite  independent  of  school  training;  in  innate 
benevolence  and  sympathy  and  quick  intuitions;  but 
there  are  also  the  added  elements  of  wide  scholarship,  ac- 
curate mental  training,  and  professional  knowledge  of  the 
scientific  type,  as  distinguished  from  the  formal  rules  of 


INTliODUCTION.  ix 

method.  In  writing  these  papers  I  have  had  in  mind 
such  teaching  as  I  have  just  tried  to  indicate.  Perhaps, 
under  existing  conditions,  the  most  of  the  work  done  in 
the  schoolroom  must  be  mechanical  in  order  to  utilize 
slender  teaching  ability ;  but  this  only  makes  apparent 
the  supreme  need  of  encouraging  those  who  purpose  to 
teach  to  covet  the  best  gifts. 

The  practice  of  medicine  and  law  is  attractive  to  men 
of  talent  because  there  is  so  wide  a  field  for  the  exercise 
of  their  versatility  and  skill.  The  succession  of  new  and 
interesting  problems  awakens  and  sustains  a  noble  passion 
for  triumphing  over  diflBculties,  which  gives  keen  enjoy- 
ment to  professional  life.  These  victories  and  delights 
are  due  to  the  previsions  of  science ;  the  delicious  sense 
of  power  comes  from  fruitful  knowledge.  But  perhaps 
even  a  keener  enjoyment  comes  from  the  consciousness 
of  growth,  and  of  taking  progressive  steps  in  an  honor- 
able career. 

All  these  avenues  to  enjoyment  are  open  to  the  teacher 
provided  he  has  professional  competence  and  skill — pro- 
vided he  has  that  kind  of  knowledge  which  can  give  him 
power  over  the  remote  and  the  diflBcult — provided  he  has 
that  versatility  and  freedom  which  come  from  the  com- 
prehension of  general  truths.  To  the  teacher  who  has 
gained  a  real  insight  into  educational  principles  there  is 
presented  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  highest  intellec- 
tual gifts,  for  there  is  a  constant  succession  of  varied  and 
interesting  problems  which  hourly  challenge  his  profes- 
sional skill.  And  he  may  enjoy  that  grateful  sense  of 
growth  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  and  he  may  bo 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

inspired  by  the  hope  of  an  honorable  career.  All  these 
things  are  possible,  provided  the  teacher  has  formed  a 
love  for  thinking  and  has  made  himself  capable  of  scien- 
tific prevision. 

If  I  interpret  my  own  thoughts  aright,  my  dominant 
purpose  in  the  composition  of  these  essays  has  been  to 
encourage  among  teachers  the  habit  of  serious  reflection 
upon  some  of  the  greater  problems  in  education,  to  the 
end  that  they  may  find  a  new  delight  in  an  occupation 
otherwise  monotonous  and  uninspiring.  The  first  need 
of  the  teacher  is  to  be  reasonably  happy  in  his  work,  and 
I  feel  sure  that  the  source  of  this  happiness  is  in  the  di- 
rection I  have  tried  to  indicate.  I  wish  I  might  gain 
the  ear  of  young  men  who  are  ambitious  to  rise  in  the 
world  through  the  doing  of  good.  To  those  who  can 
treat  grave  questions  with  judicial  seriousness  and  fair- 
ness there  is  no  field  of  activity  more  inviting  than  that 
of  the  educational  thinker. 

Need  I  remind  the  reader  that  the  questions  discussed 
in  these  essays  are  "open  questions"?  On  no  one  of 
them  has  the  last  word  been  said;  and  any  one  whose 
thinking  has  been  patient,  catholic,  and  candid  has  the 
right  to  be  heard.  The  most  thoughtful  and  fruitful 
book  on  education  since  the  "Emile"  is  undoubtedly 
Spencer's  "  Education,"  and  by  common  consent  it  is  the 
most  authoritative  expression  of  the  doctrine  that  is  now 
in  the  ascendant  among  educational  reformers.  It  may 
be  doubted  whether  any  thinker  since  Aristotle  has  been 
endowed  with  such  powers  of  analysis  and  comprehension 
as  are  conspicuous  in  Mr.  Spencer's  philosophical  writings; 


INTRODUCTION.  ^j 

but  tliis  vast  power  of  generalizing  is  the  source  of  error 
whenever,  as  in  Mr.  Spencer's  case,  studies  are  not 
"  bounded  in  by  experience."  Indeed,  this  is  a  very  con- 
-spicuous  case  in  which  "studies  do  give  forth  directions 
too  much  at  large."  It  is  a  notable  fact  that  the  men 
who,  like  Rousseau,  Locke,  and  Spencer,  have  written 
the  most  absolutely  on  education  have  been  men  of  little 
or  no  experience  in  actual  teaching.  I  trust  the  reader 
will  not  think  it  presumption,  then,  that  I  have  ventured 
to  call  in  question  some  of  Mr.  Spencer's  broadest  gener- 
alizations. For  many  years  I  have  been  compelled  to 
study  educational  questions  on  their  purely  practical  side, 
and  the  attempt  to  convert  Mr.  Spencer's  formulas  into 
working  rules  first  suggested  to  me  the  probability  that 
this  love  for  generalizations  had  betrayed  him  into  error. 
In  bringing  these  essays  together  into  a  volume  I  have 
tried  to  cancel  repetitions  that  almost  involuntarily  appear 
in  such  a  series  of  detached  papers ;  but  after  all  my  care 
some  such  repetitions  of  thought,  expression,  and  illustra- 
tion remain  to  tax  the  indulgence  of  the  reader. 

W.  H.  Payne. 

University  of  Michigan. 


CONTENTS. 


Pagb 
I.  IS  THERE  A  SCIENCE  OF  PEDAGOGICS  ? 1 

II.   THE    SCIENCE    OF    EDUCATION,    ITS    NATURE,    ITS 

METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS 1 

III.  CONTRIBUTION    TO    THE    SCIENCE    OF    EDUCATION 

VALUES 31 

IV.  THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH  AND  SOME 

APPLICATIONS  OF  THIS  DOCTRINE  TO  TEACHING    69 

V.   THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE 81 

VL   THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS 102 

VIL   OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL" 138 

Vm.   THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS 157 

IX.  "PROCEED  FROM  THE  KNOWN  TO  THE  UNKNOWN"  168 

X.  TRIBUTE  TO  FETICH  WORSHIP 1T5 

XL   LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION 180 

XIL   THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL 199 

XHL  TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION....  217 

XIV.   THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST 235 

XV.   EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY 267 

XVL   THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM 281 

XVIL   THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE 309 

APPEI^DIX. 

THE  STUDY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  MICH-' 
IGAN 835 

INDEX. 849 


"Know  and  then  act." — Bias. 

*'  Studies  perfect  nature  and  arc  perfected  by  experience." — Bacos. 

"Progress  is  not  a  force  that  acts  spasmodically,  but  is  a  logical  and 
graduated  evolution  in  which  the  idea  of  to-day  is  connected  with  that  of 
yesterday,  as  the  latter  is  to  a  still  more  remote  past." — Joseph  Simon. 

"  It  may  perhaps  seem  to  be  better,  and  indeed  necessary  to  the  salvation  of 
truth,  to  subvert  the  opinions  even  of  our  friends.  For  both  being  our  friends 
(Plato  and  truth),  it  is  holy  to  give  the  preference  to  truth." — Aristotle. 


SCIENCE    OF   EDUCATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 
IS  THERE  A  SCIENCE  OF  PEDAGOGICS  ? 

This  question  is  ambiguous,  the  two  queries  involved 
in  it  being,  (1)  Is  there  a  science  of  pedagogics  in  posse? 
Or,  (2)  Is  tliere  such  a  science  in  esse  f  I  shall  attempt 
to  answer  these  queries  in  the  order  stated. 

I.  Is  there,  from  the  very  constitution  of  things,  a  sci- 
ence of  human  training  as  distinguished  from  the  art  of 
human  training? 

1.  Presumptively  there  is ;  for  the  established  use  of 
the  terms  science  of  education,  science  of  pedagogics ,  and 
science  of  teaching,  by  the  leading  thinkers  of  the  age, 
almost  necessarily  carries  with  it  the  implication  that  the 
art  of  human  training  has  its  correlated  science.  At 
least,  the  current  use  of  this  term  by  men  addicted  to 
habits  of  exact  thinking  establishes  a  very  strong  proba- 
bility that  such  a  science  exists  potentially^  if  not  act- 
ually. 

2.  The  existence  of  such  a  science  in  posse  is  estab- 
lished beyond  question  by  the  doctrine  of  two  orders  of 
knowledge,  a  higher  and  a  lower,  each  of  which  is  the 
complement  of  the  other. 

These  two  orders  of  knowledge  may  be  called  the 
speculative  and  the  practical;  the  speculative  resulting 

1 


3  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

from  the  examination  of  tlie  established  constitntion  or 
nature  of  things,  and  held  by  the  mind  as  matter  for  sim- 
ple contemplation  ;  and  the  practical  resulting  from  the 
production  of  effects  by  the  use  of  means.  For  example, 
the  attentive  examination  of  a  new  substance  may  end  in 
the  discovery  of  certain  properties  or  sets  of  uniformi- 
ties in  relation  or  behavior;  and  as  long  as  this  knowl- 
edge remains  in  the  mind  as  matter  for  mere  contempla- 
tion, and  is  not  employed  in  the  way  of  producing  re- 
sults, it  is  specuLative.  But  when  the  knowledge  of  these 
uniformities  is  employed  for  direction  in  the  working 
out  o^  results,  it  becomes ^;'ac^icaZ.  The  knowledge  of 
astronomy  is  chiefly  of  the  speculative  order ;  man  has 
but  little  opportunity  to  employ  the  observed  uniformi- 
ties in  the  production  of  results.  The  knowledge  of  ag- 
riculture, on  the  other  hand,  is  chiefly  practical,  consist- 
ing in  mere  methods  for  the  attainment  of  results.  The 
baker's  knowledge  of  his  own  art  is  practical ;  he  can 
perform  all  its  processes,  but  can  explain  none  of  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  chemist's  knowledge  of  the  baker's 
art  is  speculative ;  he  can  explain  all  its  processes,  but 
can  perform  none  of  them.  These  contrasted  phases  of 
knowledge  are  universal ;  and,  by  general  consent,  the 
terms  science  and  art  have  been  used  to  mark  this  dis- 
crimination. Every  art  thus  implies  a  science ;  and,  in 
turn,  every  science  implies  an  art,  actual  or  possible. 

A  summary  answer  to  the  first  query  is  this :  By  uni- 
versal consent  there  is  an  art  of  pedagogics,  said  art  con- 
sisting in  certain  processes  for  the  attainment  of  results. 
But  these  processes  necessarily  imply  certain  uniformi- 
ties, and  these  uniformities,  when  ascertained  and  put  in 
order,  constitute  a  science  of  pedagogics. 

II.  Is  there  a  science  of  pedagogics  in  esse  f 


IS  THERE  A  SCIENCE  OF  PEDAGOGICS?  8 

The  answer  to  this  question  depends  somewhat  on  the 
definition  of  science.  If  science  be  an  orderly  and  ex- 
haustive deduction  of  minor  truths  from  a  few  first  prin- 
ciples that  are  axiomatic,  then  there  is  but  one  science — 
mathematics ;  but  if  the  term  science  be  construed  in  the 
sense  explained  above,  the  number  of  possible  sciences 
is  indeterminate,  and  the  number  of  actual  sciences  very 
large.  This  conception  of  science  does  not  require  that 
the  enumeration  of  its  first  principles  shall  be  complete, 
or  that  they  be  arranged  in  a  strictly  logical  order,  or 
that  the  series  of  deductions  shall  be  complete.  Sciences 
may  be  incomplete  in  matter  and  imperfect  in  form,  and 
still  be  sciences  in  the  accepted  and  legitimate  use  of  this 
term. 

The  science  of  pedagogics  stands  in  the  case  last  de- 
scribed; it  is  still  incomplete  in  its  matter,  all  its  first 
principles  not  having  been  formulated ;  and  it  is  imper- 
fect in  form,  its  admitted  principles  not  having  been  ar- 
ranged, and  deductions  from  them  not  having  been  made 
with  the  required  completeness  and  order.  Whoever 
takes  an  established  psychological  law  and  draws  from  it 
legitimate  deductions  that  can  be  employed  for  guidance 
in  educational  work,  has  made  a  contribution  to  the  sci- 
ence of  pedagogics ;  and  works  like  Bain's  "  Education 
as  a  Science,"  and  Rosenkranz's  "  Pedagogics  as  a  Sys- 
tem," that  discuss,  in  a  comprehensive  way,  the  doctrines  of 
education,  are  actual  treatises  on  the  science  of  pedagogics. 

The  answer  to  the  second  query,  then,  briefly  stated,  is 
this :  A  science  of  pedagogics  exists  as  an  actual  fact,  but 
it  is  still  incomplete  in  matter  and  imperfect  in  form. 
The  need  of  the  hour  is  a  systematic  rearrangement  of 
the  old  material,  and  the  addition  of  omitted  principles 
and  their  deductions. 


4  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Though  not  strictly  belonging  to  the  above  inquiry,  I 
add  a  paragraph  on  the  general  nature  of  educational  sci- 
ence from  my  own  point  of  view. 

The  material  composing  a  science  of  pedagogics  is  logi- 
cally distributed  as  follows : 

1.  The  being  to  be  educated  is  susceptible  of  three  or- 
ders of  growth  :  first,  physical ;  second,  mental ;  third, 
moral.  A  mtional  art  of  education  must  be  based  on  the 
laws  that  regulate  these  three  orders  of  growth.  The 
science  of  pedagogics  must  therefore  borrow  principles 
from  physiology,  psychology,  and  ethics. 

2.  All  instruction  presupposes  a  medium  of  communi- 
cation. This  medium  is  language  ;  and  the  laws  of  lan- 
guage, as  employed  in  the  communication  of  knowledge, 
are  expounded  in  the  science  of  logic.  The  science  of 
pedagogics  will  therefore  borrow  other  principles  from 
logic. 

3.  Growth  presupposes  aliment ;  and  this  aliment,  in 
the  present  case,  is  represented  by  the  various  subjects 
of  human  knowledge.  A  necessary  element  in  the  sci- 
ence of  pedagogics  is  a  determination  of  education  val- 
ues; but,  as  there  is  no  independent  science  for  deter- 
mining these  values,  this  is  an  inductive  inquiry,  fall- 
ing within  the  domain  of  the  science  of  pedagogics  it- 
self. 

4.  In  passing  from  the  single  child  to  aggregates  of 
children,  there  arises  the  need  of  the  organization  of 
schools  and  school-systems ;  and  so  the  science  of  peda- 
gogics must  borrow  other  material  from  liistory,  sociol- 
ogy, political  science,  and  legislation. 

5.  It  must  be  that  much  valid  educational  truth  is  em- 
bodied in  current  methods.  The  analytical  examination 
of  results  is  therefore  a  necessary  part  of  the  science  of 


IS  THERE  A  SCIENCE  OF  PEDAGOGICS?  6 

pedagogics;  and  the  truths  thus  elicited  will  serve  to 
verify  the  deductions  drawn  from  assumed  principles. 

6.  Education,  in  its  ideal  or  formal  aspect,  aims  at  the 
realization  of  the  typical  man,  and  comprises  all  the  agen- 
cies that  can  be  brought  under  human  control  for  the  at- 
tainment of  this  end.  The  principles  that  are  involved 
in  this  whole  complex  process,  when  systematically  ar- 
ranged, constitute  the  science  of  pedagogics.  This  I  be- 
lieve to  be  the  authorized  use  of  the  terra  by  German, 
French,  and  Italian  writers  on  education. 

7.  The  term  pedagogy  should  be  used  to  designate  the 
art  of  education,  or,  rather,  so  much  of  this  art  as  falls 
within  th3  province  of  the  school.  This  distinction  is 
made  by  the  Italian  educator,  E.  Latino,*  and  seems  to 
me  worthy  of  being  accepted  by  educational  writers. 

8.  The  current  use  of  the  term  pedagogics  {Fr.  peda- 
gogic; It.  pedagogica,  pedagogia;  Ger.  padagogik)  in 
French,  Italian,  and  German  literature,  is  a  sufficient 
warrant  for  the  respectability  of  the  term.  To  affect  a 
dislike  for  the  word  on  etymological  or  historical  grounds 
is  childish.f 

*»"Thu3  pedagogics  (pedagogica),  or  the  science  of  education,  is 
connected  with  pedagogy  (pedagogia),  or  the  art  of  education ;  for 
science  has  need  of  art  in  order  to  be  useful  to  life,  and  to  direct 
the  conduct  of  human  affairs;  and  art  has  need  of  science  in  order 
to  be  enlightened  and  made  conscious  of  its  own  scope  and  power." 
— Emanuele  Latino, "  Delia  Pedagogica"  (Palermo,  1876),  p.  114. 

t "  Pedagogy  is  the  science  of  education.  The  word  pedagogue  is 
of  Greek  origin,  and  signifies  a  conductor  of  children.  A  pedagogue 
was  a  slave  charged  with  the  duty  of  conducting  children  to  school. 
From  this  wholly  material  sense  the  word  has  been  raised  to  a  nobler 
sense.  To-day  a  pedagogue  is  he  who  directs  the  young  intellectual- 
ly and  morally.  Can  there  be  a  grander  mission?" — Marion,  "Lc- 
90ns  de  Psychologic  Appliqu6e  fi  I'lSducation"  (Paris,  1884),  p.  13. 


6  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

In  his  "  Histoire  de  la  Pedagogic,"  M.  Compayr6  takes 
pains  to  distinguish  the  term  pedagogy  from  the  term 
education,  using  the  former  in  a  h'mited  or  technical 
sense,  and  the  latter  in  a  comprehensive  or  liberal  sense.* 

*  See  the  Introduction  to  Compayrfi's  "  History  of  Pedagogy " 
(Boston,  1886). 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    SCIENCE    OF    EDUCATION.  —  ITS    NATURE,   ITS 
METHOD,  ANT)  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS. 

One  of  the  curiosities  of  current  educational  history  is 
the  fact  that  English  teachers  are  still  discussing  the 
question,  whether  there  is  a  science  of  education.  The 
cause  of  tliis  phenomenon  is  said  to  be  the  low  state  of 
philosophical  studies  among  the  English.  This  conject- 
ure is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  in  Germany  and  in 
Scotland,  where  philosophy  has  long  been  in  high  repute, 
this  question  is  as  far  above  discussion  as  an  axiom  in 
mathematics.  It  is  probable  that,  in  this  country,  philo- 
sophical culture  has  not  yet  attained  a  depth  and  a  breadth 
that  will  make  the  existence  of  a  science  of  education  a 
postulate.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  when  this  sub- 
ject has  become  of  suflBcient  importance  to  be  talked 
about,  there  will  be  sceptics  and  disbelievers  here,  as  in 
England.  On  this  subject,  our  present  intellectual  state 
is  the  unanimity  of  the  ignorant.  There  are  yet  to  come 
the  disagreements  of  the  inquiring,  to  be  followed,  let  us 
hope,  by  the  unanimity  of  the  wise.* 

In  human  societies  there  are  advanced  stages  of  opinion 
that  seem  to  come  in  the  fulness  of  time.  That  is,  they 
do  not  seem  to  come  as  the  results  of  deliberate  think- 
ing, but  rather  to  be  evolved  out  of  unconscious  or 
spontaneous  thought.  In  this  state,  these  intellectual 
advances  are  growths ;  and,  as  such,  they  escape  special 

*  Spencer,  "Education"  (New  York,  1861),  p.  101. 


8  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

notice  on  their  first  appearance,  but  bj  and  bj  they  be- 
come the  subject  of  critical  analysis,  and  in  the  end  they 
are  helped  forward  by  deliberate  effort.  As  examples  of 
this  law  we  may  observe  the  three  progressive  phases  of 
public  opinion  as  to  fitness  for  teaching : 

1.  The  primitive  phase  of  opinion  identifies  teaching 
ability  with  general  scholarship.  It  is  assumed  that  a 
good  scholar  will  be  a  good  teacher,  if  he  chooses  to  adopt 
this  vocation.  This  mode  of  thought  is  still  embodied  in 
the  legal  requirements  for  obtaining  a  license  to  teach. 
The  current  modes  of  examining  teachers  are  apparently 
based  on  the  assumption  that  mere  scholarship  is  the  test 
of  a  candidate's  fitness  and  worth. 

2.  Within  the  last  one  hundred  years  there  have  been 
the  outcroppings  of  an  advanced  opinion.  After  centuries 
of  experience,  the  fact  had  become  impressed  on  some 
minds  that  something  besides  scholarship  was  needed  for 
success  in  teaching.  This  something  turned  out  to  be 
trained  skill.  To  be  a  teacher,  one  must  know  not  only 
the  subjects  he  is  to  teach,  bnt  as  well  the  best  ways  by 
which  tiiese  subjects  are  to  be  taught.  This  discovery  is, 
by  implication,  at  least  twenty-two  centuries  old.  The 
world  had  to  wait  for  the  genius  of  Socrates  to  formulate 
this  general  truth  :  That  xohatever  a  man  proposes  to  do^ 
that  thing  he  should  learn  hefore  the  doing  is  attempted. 
This  incident  from  the  "  Memorabil  ia  of  Socrates,"  by  Xen- 
ophon,  is  worthy  of  repetition  :  Enthydemus,  surnamed 
the  Handsome,  was  an  ambitious  and  conceited  young 
man  of  Athens.  He  aspired  to  take  part  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  city ;  and,  to  create  the  impression  that  lie 
was  wise  above  the  young  men  of  his  time,  he  had  made 
a  large  collection  of  books,  and  on  these  he  relied  as  an 
evidence  that  he  was  qualified  to  become  a  ruler  of  Athens, 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OP  ITS  PROBLEMS.    9 

and  to  give  counsel  on  public  affairs.  Now  Socrates 
thought  it  his  duty  to  take  the  conceit  out  of  this  super- 
ficial and  ambitious  young  man.  An  opportunity  was 
soon  found ;  for  he  surprised  Euthydemus  in  a  company 
of  admiring  friends,  in  a  bridle-maker's  shop  near  the 
Agora — a  place  to  which  the  young  man  was  accustomed  to 
resort  when  his  political  prospects  were  to  be  looked  after. 
This  is  what  Socrates  said :  "  1  imagine  that  Euthyde- 
mus here  lias  already  framed  an  exordium  for  his  public 
oration  *  *  *  and  that  when  he  begins  to  speak  he  will 
make  his  opening  thus :  'I,  O  men  of  Athens,  have  never 
learned  anything  from  any  person,  nor,  though  I  have 
heard  of  some  that  were  skilled  in  speaking  and  acting, 
have  I  sought  to  converse  with  them,  nor  have  I  been 
anxious  that  any  one  of  the  learned  should  become  my 
master;  but  I  have  done  the  exact  contrary;  for  I  have 
constantly  avoided  not  only  learning  anything  from  any 
one,  but  even  the  appearance  of  learning  anything;  never- 
theless I  will  offer  3'ou  such  advice  as  may  occur  to  me 
without  premeditation.'  "  Thereupon  Socrates  proceeds 
to  parody  this  supposed  speech  as  follows :  "  I,  O  men  of 
Athens,  have  never  learned  the  medical  art  from  any  one, 
nor  have  been  desirous  that  any  physician  should  be  my 
instructor;  for  I  have  constantly  been  on  my  guard,  not 
only  against  learning  anything  of  the  art  from  any  one,  but 
even  against  appearing  to  have  learned  anything ;  never- 
theless confer  on  me  this  medical  appointment ;  for  I 
will  endeavor  to  learn  by  making  experiments  upon  yon." 
"  At  this  mode  of  opening  a  speech,"  Xenophon  slyly  ob- 
serves, "all  who  were  present  burst  out  into  laughter."* 
I  was  led  into  this  digression  by  remarking  that  the 

*"  Memorabilia  of  Socrates  "  (Watson's  translation.  New  York, 
1869),  IX.,  ii.,  3-5. 

1* 


10  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

doctrine  is  ancient,  that  men  should  learn  their  art  be- 
fore they  venture  to  practise  it.  Euthydemns  held  the 
very  modern  doctrine,  that  "we  learn  to  do  by  doing;" 
and  had  he  been  an  applicant  for  a  position  in  a  public 
school,  he  would  doubtless  have  urged  his  claims  in  this 
wise:  "I,  O  members  of  the  board,  have  never  learned 
the  art  of  teaching  from  any  one,  nor  have  I  been  desir- 
ous that  any  teacher  should  be  my  instructor;  for  I  have 
constantly  been  on  my  guard,  not  only  against  learning 
anything  of  the  art  of  teaching  from  any  one,  but  even 
against  appearing  to  have  learned  anything ;  nevertheless 
confer  on  me  this  scholastic  appointment ;  for  I  will  en- 
deavor to  learn  by  making  experiments  on  your  children." 

I  think  it  a  curious  fact  that  this  Socratic  doctrine,  so 
fruitful  in  its  suggestions,  did  not  affect  the  teacher's 
calling  from  this  time  forward.  But  the  fact  remains, 
that  it  was  not  till  within  about  a  hundred  years  that  a 
knowledge  of  method  began  to  be  regarded  as  an  essential 
element  in  a  teacher's  qualification.  This  second  phase  of 
opinion  respecting  fitness  for  teaching  is  embodied  in  the 
Normal  School,  whose  original  intent  was  to  give  a  sound 
academic  training  in  subjects,  and  at  the  same  time  to  com- 
municate the  best-known  methods  of  doing  school  work. 

3.  But  the  slow  evolution  of  opinion  has  brought  for- 
ward a  still  higher  ideal  of  fitness  for  teaching.  Accord- 
ing to  this  conception,  the  teacher  should  not  only  have 
a  broad  knowledge  of  subjects,  supplemented  by  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  best  methods,  but  should  know  the  general 
principles  and  laws  that  underlie  methods,  and  thus  give 
them  their  validity.  In  this  progress  of  opinion,  the 
sequence  has  been  this :  (1)  knowledge ;  (2)  knowledge 
and  method ;  (3)  knowledge,  method,  and  doctrine.  Or 
the  successive  steps  may  be  stated  in  another  form,  as 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  11 

follows :  At  first,  the  teacher  was  not  differentiated  from 
the  scholar,  there  was  no  preparatory  training;  next, 
the  teacher  was  differentiated  from  the  scholar  by  method, 
the  preparatory  training  was  empirical;  now,  this  pre- 
paratory training  is  to  be  rational, — method  must  be  the 
outgrowth  of  known  physiological,  psychological,  and 
ethical  laws ;  the  ideal  teacher  must  be  a  man  of  science 
in  the  same  sense  that  the  reputable  physician  is  a  man 
of  science ;  teaching  is  no  longer  to  be  a  trade,  a  mere 
calling,  or  an  empirical  art,  but  a  rational  art,  an  art  de- 
riving its  inspiration  from  science,  and  basing  its  practice 
on  established  laws.  All  this  amounts  to  saying  that,  in 
the  slow  but  sure  evolution  of  human  opinion,  a  science 
of  education  is  beginning  to  emerge  from  the  art  of  ed- 
ucation :  and  so  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  is  to  define, 
in  outline,  the  nature  of  this  new  science,  the  method  of 
its  cultivation,  and  some  of  the  problems  that  it  must  solve. 
Throughout  this  chapter  I  use  the  term  science  as  dis- 
tinguished from  artj  science  denoting  a  higher  order  of 
knowledge,  and  art,  a  correlated,  but  lower  order,  of 
knowledge.  To  make  my  use  of  these  contrasted  terms 
as  clear  as  possible,  I  discriminate  two  orders  of  knowl- 
edge as  follows :  We  may  suppose  a  farmer  to  know  the 
mere  processes  or  rules  of  his  art,  but  to  be  in  absolute 
ignorance  of  the  physical  and  chemical  laws  that  are  in- 
volved in  the  art ;  he  can  do,  but  cannot  explain  what 
he  does.  On  the  other  hand,  we  may  suppose  a  scholar 
to  know  all  the  physical  and  chemical  laws  that  are  in- 
volved in  agriculture,  but  to  be  absolutely  unable  to  suc- 
ceed in  a  single  branch  of  this  art.  He  can  explain  all 
its  processes,  but  can  perform  none  of  them.  In  the  first 
case,  there  is  art  without  science;  and  in  the  second, 
science  without  art.    This  contrast  runs  through  all  forms 


12 


SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 


of  human  labor.  There  is  no  art  that  docs  not  imply  a 
science,  for  there  is  no  effect  without  a  cause.*  There 
may  be  sciences,  however,  without  correlative  arts,  because 
there  may  be  laws  that  human  skill  has  not  employed. 

The  contrast  now  pointed  out  has  been  expressed  as 
follows:  "Science  consists  in  knowing^  art  in  doing;'*'' 
"the  principles  which  art  involves,  science  evolves." 
The  contrast  is  broadly  expressed  by  the  terms  theory  and 
practice,  as  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching.  Some 
of  the  relations  of  science  to  art,  or  of  theory  to  practice, 
are  the  following :  1.  The  ideal  knowledge  comprehends 
both  doing  and  knowing — it  is  theory  embodied  in  prac- 
tice, or  practice  guided  and  inspired  by  theory.  2.  The 
largest  element  in  trades  is  practical  knowledge ;  the 
largest  element  in  professimis  is  theoretical  knowledge. 

3.  The  lower  order  of  knowledge  is  the  easier  of  attain- 
ment ;  it  will,  therefore,  be  the  more  common,  and  hence 
the  cheaper ;  the  labor  of  highest  market  value  will  be 
that  which  involves  the  largest  use  of  the  intelligence. 

4.  The  direct  route  to  the  perfecting  of  an  art  is  through 
a  clear  comprehension  of  the  principles  that  are  involved 
in  the  art.f 

*  Plato  speaksof  the  arfan^8cJencco/'»iaHn^s^tfes."Theaetctus,"147. 
t  Perhaps  a  simple  diagram  like  the  following  may  add  clearness 
to  this  distinction : 

Mentnl. 


OOOCPATIOSB. 


f\ 

Poetry. 

Law. 

Edncation. 

\ 

Sculpture. 
Aichltecture. 

\ 

Medicine. 

\ 

Telegraphy. 

\ 

Masonry. 

Carpentry. 

MiniuET. 

Moiiaal. 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  13 

What  is  meant  by  edircational  science  must  be  ap- 
parent— the  doctrines,  principles,  or  laws  that  are  involved 
in  the  art  of  education.  This  art  has  been  practised  from 
time  immemorial,  but  whatever  progress  has  been  made 
in  it  has,  for  the  most  part,  been  instinctive^  slow^  and 
wasteful.  It  is  now  proposed  "  to  take  stock  of  our  prog- 
ress," to  discover  the  principles  that  underlie  the  processes 
of  human  perfectibility,  and  to  bring  educational  meth- 
ods into  conformity  with  law,  thus  making  our  progress 
rational^  continuous,  and  economical. 

This  third  movement  in  educational  thought,  which 
we  may  call  the  rational  or  the  scientific,  is  attested  by 
(1)  the  fact,  that  in  Germany,  in  Scotland,  and  even  in 
our  own  country,  education,  in  its  three  aspects,  as  an  art, 
a  science,  and  a  history,  has  been  made  a  subject  of  uni- 
versity instruction  ;  (2)  by  the  fact  that  books  on  the  sci- 
entific aspect  of  education  are  beginning  to  be  written 
and  read ;  (3)  and  also  by  the  fact  that  normal  schools 
have  begun  to  superadd  to  their  instruction  in  subjects 
and  methods  instruction  in  principles  and  doctrines. 

This  movement  towards  making  education  a  rational 
art  has  been  a  genesis  or  an  evolution ;  it  has  not  been 
forced  into  notice  by  resolutions  and  popular  demonstra- 
tions, but  has  been,  the  rather,  instinctive  and  spontaneous. 
It  has  come  in  the  fulness  of  time,  and  it  has  come  as  a 
permanent  factor  in  educational  history. 

Tlie  new  thought  will  insist  on  its  right  of  domicile, 
and  we  must  gradually  adjust  ourselves  to  the  changes 
that  are  imminent  and  inevitable.  The  newspaper,  tiie 
reaper,  the  sewing-machine,  and  the  telephone  are  in- 
stances of  a  similar  evolution.  They  are  blrtlis  rather 
than  inventions.  Civilization  is  a  progress,  and  these 
elements  in  our  progress  may  possibly  be  superseded  by 


14  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

something  of  a  higher  type ;  but  it  is  not  conceivable 
that  the  world  will  go  back  to  the  state  of  things  that 
preceded  these  inventions.  The  particular  truth  I  wish 
to  emphasize  is  this :  a  new  day  has  dawned  on  the  edu- 
cating art ;  henceforth  teaching  is  to  be  allied  with  phi- 
losophy, and  to  furnish  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  the 
highest  gifts  of  mind  and  heart.  Henceforth  the  teacher 
may  be  inspired  to  his  highest  efforts  by  the  hope  of  a 
career^  he  may  see  in  his  profession  an  opportunity  to 
rise  in  public  consideration  by  the  exercise  of  his  ability, 
his  versatility,  or  his  genius.  And,  infinitely  better  than 
all  this,  the  succeeding  generations  of  men  will  attain  a 
higher  type  of  manhood,  because  from  their  training  will 
gradually  be  eliminated  the  elements  of  ignorance,  em- 
piricism, and  waste. 

The  general  nature  of  educational  science  may  be 
gathered  from  the  following  statements :  Among  every 
people,  and  in  every  age  of  the  world,  there  has  been  a 
conception  of  what  a  human  being  ought  to  be ;  and,  in 
every  case,  the  purpose  of  education  has  been  to  cause 
the  young  to  grow  into  this  ideal.  This  conception  has 
varied  from  age  to  age,  and  from  place  to  place ;  but,  in 
every  case,  the  purpose  has  been  to  mould  the  rising  gen- 
eration into  the  likeness  of  some  ideal.  Animal  cun- 
ning, physical  endurance,  and  a  contempt  for  suffering, 
were  the  elements  of  the  Indian's  conception  of  the  per- 
fect man ;  and  so  the  Indian  boy  was  trained  into  habits 
involving  these  qualities.  The  Jewish  conception  was 
reverence,  piety,  and  passive  obedience  to  authority; 
Jewish  instruction  was,  therefore,  religious  and  literary, 
making  the  law  of  Moses  and  sacred  history  the  chief 
studies  of  the  schools.  The  ideal  Athenian  was  cultured 
and  fiesthetic;   the  ideal  Koman,  patriotic,  brave,  and 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  15 

practical ;  and,  in  each  case,  education  was  directed  to- 
the  attainment  of  these  ideals.  In  our  own  time,  educa- 
tion is  moulded  after  two  conceptions  or  two  ideals. 
First,  there  is  the  conception  of  the  typical  man,  or  of 
man  as  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  his  kind,  without 
regard  to  any  special  use  that  is  to  be  made  of  him ;  and 
to  turn  out  this  finished  product  is  the  purpose  of  what 
we  call  a  liberal  education.  Again,  there  is  the  con- 
ception of  man  as  a  creature  who  must  "  get  on  in  the 
world,"  or  earn  a  livelihood  by  being  serviceable  to  his 
fellows;  and  so,  to  turn  out  this  product,  we  institute 
what  we  call  technical  or  practical  education.  We  may 
now  define  liberal  education  as  the  complex  process  by 
which  a  human  being  is  helped  to  grow  into  the  highest 
ideal  of  his  kind ;  and  technical  or  practical  education  as 
the  process  by  which  a  human  being  is  to  be  fitted  to 
earn  a  livelihood  by  some  form  of  industry.  The  sci- 
ence of  education  must  start  with  these  two  conceptions, 
and,  having  made  an  analysis  of  them,  must  formulate 
methods  for  attaining  the  ends  in  view. 

These  two  conceptions,  the  higher  and  the  lower,  have 
three  elements  in  common  :  (1)  There  is  the  suhstratum^ 
or  body ;  (2)  the  mind,  as  the  seat  of  intellectual  activi- 
ties ;  and  (3)  the  spirit,  as  the  seat  of  moral  activities.  In 
other  words,  man,  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  his  kind, 
and  man,  as  an  instrument  or  toiler,  have  passed  through 
three  forms  of  training — physical,  intellectual,  and  moral. 
If  this  complex  process  of  education  is  to  be  rational, 
physical  training  must  be  based  on  the  laws  of  physiol- 
ogy ;  mental  training,  on  the  laws  of  psychology ;  and 
moral  training,  on  the  laws  of  ethics.  In  other  words,  j 
the  basis  of  the  science  of  education  must  be  general  \ 
laws  derived  or  borrowed  from  the  sciences  of  physiol- 
ogy, psychology  and  ethics. 


16  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Again,  education,  both  liberal  and  technical,  will  be 
modified  according  to  the  genius  of  the  people  for  whom 
and  by  whom  it  is  administered.  Thus,  English  educa- 
tion differs  from  German,  German  from  French,  French 
from  American — each  from  every  other.  The  science  of 
education  must  provide  for  these  variations,  and  so  it 
must  borrow  some  of  its  principles  from  sociology,  gen- 
eral or  special. 

The  medium  of  communication  between  teacher  and 
pupil  is  language ;  all  instruction  involves  the  use  of  sym- 
bols ;  speech  is  the  instrument  of  the  teacher's  art.  It 
follows,  then,  that  that  part  of  education  which  has  to  do 
with  the  communication  of  knowledge  must  be  based  on 
principles  of  logic. 

Thus  far  education  is  an  applied  or  a  derived  science. 
That  is,  it  assumes  the  principles  or  laws  that  have  al- 
ready been  established  in  other  departments  of  thought, 
and  upon  these  it  bases  its  modes  of  procedure.  But,  be- 
sides this  borrowed  material,  the  science  of  education 
must  employ  general  truths  of  its  own  gathering.  For 
example,  each  of  the  studies  upon  which  the  pupil's  mind 
is  employed  serves  a  distinct  purpose.  As  Bacon  has  it : 
"  Histories  make  men  wise ;  poets,  witty  ;  the  mathemat- 
ics, subtile;  natural  philosophy,  deepe;  morale,  grave; 
logick  and  rhetorick,  able  to  contend.  ...  So  every  de- 
fect of  the  mind  may  have  special  receit."*  Now,  the 
doctrine  of  education  values  is  of  the  first  importance  in 
education ;  but,  as  there  is  no  independent  science  for 
determining  these  values,  this  becomes  a  function  of 
educational  science.  Other  independent  investigations 
falling  within  the  province  of  this  science  are  the  follow- 

♦  "  Of  Studies." 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLExMS.  17 

ing:  tlie  action  of  examinations;  education  as  affected 
by  sex ;  modes  of  organization ;  the  supervision  of 
schools;  the  training  and  examination  of  teachers; 
school  economics ;  and,  in  general,  the  testing  and  for- 
mulating of  results.  So  much  as  to  the  general  nature  of 
educational  science. 

If  the  foregoing  outline  has  been  correctly  drawn,  ifc 
is  not  difficult  to  state  the  general  method  of  this  sci- 
erite.  By  far  the  larger  and  more  important  part  of 
this  science  is  derivative,  consisting  of  general  laws 
borrowed  from  physiology,  psychology,  ethics,  sociology, 
and  logic.  In  the  use  of  this  material,  the  process  must 
therefore  be  deductive.  Deduction  is,  then,  the  general 
method  of  investigation  in  educational  science.  As- 
suming the  truth  of  a  given  psychological  principle,  the 
effort  must  be  to  exhibit  its  application  in  the  practice 
of  teaching.  In  other  words,  within  the  compass  now 
under  consideration,  methods  must  be  the  direct  deduc- 
tions from  principles. 

Wow,  leaving  out  of  account  the  principles  borrowed 
from  other  sciences,  and  directing  our  attention  to  the 
investigations  fallinsr  within  tlie  field  of  educational  sci- 
ence  itself,  we  see  that  the  initial  process  in  several  cases 
must  be  inductive.  Take,  for  example,  the  influence  of 
sex  on  education.  Here  the  most  direct  method  is  the 
analytical  examination  of  results.  If  accurate  statistics 
have  been  kept  in  the  case  of  mixed  schools,  the  influ- 
ence of  sex  upon  scholarship,  attendance,  etc.,  if  any,  will 
be  readily  detected.  So  far,  the  process  is  inductive; 
but  when  these  inductions  have  been  merged  in  a  law, 
this  law  is  deductively  applied,  as  in  the  first  case.  But, 
throughout  tlie  entire  science,  there  is  the  need  of  this 
analytical  examination  of  results,  both  for  the  purpose  of 


18  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

testing  deduced  methods,  and  as  the  means  of  confirm- 
ing general  laws.  For  a  law  may  be  true,  while  deduc- 
tions drawn  from  it  may  be  false.  In  respect  of  method, 
therefore,  the  case  may  be  stated  in  this  way :  the  great- 
er part  of  the  material  composing  the  science  of  educa- 
tion is  borrowed  from  other  sciences;  and  these  first 
principles,  thus  taken  on  trust,  must  be  applied  to  use  by 
the  deductive  method.  There  are  other  principles,  how- 
ever, that  the  science  of  education  must  find,  and  the 
method  of  this  finding  must  be  inductive;  but  when 
actually  found,  these  laws,  like  those  that  are  borrowed, 
must  be  applied  deductively.  But  a  concurrent  factor 
througliout  the  whole  science  must  be  the  verification  of 
laws  and  their  applications  by  the  analytical  study  of  re- 
sults; and  this  verification  is  an  inductive  process. 

In  opposition  to  this  view,  the  opinion  is  held  by  some 
that  educational  science,  at  least  so  far  as  it  has  to  do 
with  children,  must  be  constructed  de  novo,  by  the  in- 
ductive method.  It  is  asserted  that  we  know  compara- 
tively nothing  of  infant  psychology,  and  that  it  must  be 
left  to  mothers,  infant-teachers,  and  nurses  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  an  educational  psychology,  by  a  patient 
registration  of  tlie  phenomena  of  infant  life.  To  this 
assumption  it  may  be  replied  that  we  do  know  much 
about  the  psychology  of  children,  because  we  know  much 
about  psychology  in  general.  It  would  seem  as  reason- 
able to  assert  that  as  yet  we  know  nothing  about  infant 
physiology — digestion,  for  example.  But  the  fact  is,  that 
there  is  neither  infant  physiology  nor  adult  physiology, 
but  simply  physiology  in  general.  The  bodily  functions 
preserve  their  continuity  through  infancy,  childhood,  and 
maturity,  and  whatever  differences  there  may  be  are 
differences  in  degree  but  not  in  kind.     If  the  stomach 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOxME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  19 

performs  its  functions  at  all,  its  mode  of  digesting  is  the 
same  for  infant  and  for  adult.  So  the  mind  preserves  its 
continuity  from  one  extreme  of  life  to  the  other;  in  its 
normal  state,  its  general  modes  of  activity  are  the  same 
for  the  child  as  for  the  man.  There  is  but  one  psychol- 
ogy, as  there  is  but  one  physiology. 

I  am  very  far  from  denying  that  there  are  differences 
between  a  child's  mind  and  a  man's  mind ;  but  I  insist 
that  these  are  differences  in  degree  or  power,  and  not  in 
constitution.  It  is  freely  admitted  that  these  differences 
in  power  should  be  observed  and  heeded,  and  that  moth- 
ers and  nurses  may  do  some  real  service  by  their  registra- 
tion of  the  phenomena  of  infant  life.  What  I  protest 
against  is  the  present  tendency  to  exaggerate  these  dif- 
ferences, and  to  assume  that  the  child's  education  must 
be  considered  quite  apart,  as  though  he  were  a  being 
sui  generis.  I  venture  to  express  the  belief  that  one  of 
the  most  serious  errors  in  primary  teaching  arises  from 
an  exaggerated  notion  of  the  differences  between  child 
mind  and  mature  mind.  Some  observed  difference  fur- 
nishes the  devoted  enthusiast  with  a  clew,  and  then  this 
clew  is  followed  up  so  persistently,  and  so  far,  that  one 
section  of  the  child's  mind  is  aroused  to  preternatural 
activity,  while  another  section  lies  unused  and  torpid. 
It  is  observed,  for  example,  that  the  sense  activities  pre- 
dominate in  childhood.  The  teacher  lays  hold  of  this 
clew,  and  there  is  such  a  persistent  and  copious  feeding 
of  the  senses  that  the  physical  section  of  the  child's  mind 
becomes  abnormally  active,  and  the  intellectual  section 
as  abnormally  inactive.  It  would  seem  to  me  a  great 
gain  if  there  were  to  be  a  return  towards  the  older  con- 
ception, that  the  child  and  the  man  are  essentially  one, 
and  that,  for  infancy,  childhood,  and  youth,  there  should 
be  considerable  sameness  in  instrnction. 


20  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

From  the  time  of  Socrates  to  the  present  day,  the  acnt- 
est  intellects  of  the  race  have  been  employed  in  the  study 
of  mental  phenomena ;  and  it  is  inconceivable  that  from 
all  this  wealth  of  effort  we  inherit  no  lirst  truths  upon 
which  we  may  safely  base  a  science  of  mental  training. 
Most  assuredly  we  have  such  truths ;  and  the  first  task  of 
the  educational  philosopher,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  to  select 
certain  great  psychological  laws,  and  then  to  apply  them 
deductively  to  the  processes  of  mental  culture.  I  feel 
sure  that  careful  deductions  from  three  well-established 
laws,*  would  rationalize  nearly  every  process  of  the 
school-room.  Instead  of  sighing  for  new  lands  to  dis- 
cover, the  wiser  part  is  at  least  to  survey  the  patrimony 
already  ours. 

So  much  for  the  general  method  of  the  science  itself. 
Let  me  next  make  a  brief  mention  of  two  general  prin- 
ciples that  should  be  observed  while  making  our  con- 
tributions to  educational  science : 

1.  Whatever  policy  has  received  the  long  sanction  of 
the  wise  and  good,  is  likely  to  have  some  elements  of 
truth  in  it.f 

One  of  Rousseau's  counsels  was:  ^'Take  the  road  direct- 
ly opposite  to  that  which  is  in  use,  and  you  will  almost 
always  do  right."  It  was  Pestalozzi's  boast:  "I  have 
turned  the  European  car  of  progress  quite  round,  and 
set  it  going  in  a  new  direction."  The  educational  re- 
former is  too  prone  to  find  that  every  part  of  the  existing 
order  of  things  is  wrong.     Indeed,  must  he  not  think 

*  1.  The  descent  of  the  mind  from  aggregates  to  elements. 

2.  The  mutual  exclusion  of  thought  and  feeling. 

3.  Progress  from  the  confused  to  the  definite. 

t  For  a  discussion  of  this  principle  see  Spencer,  "  First  Principles," 
ch.  I. 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PUOBLEMS.  21 

this  in  order  to  be  a  reformer?  If  everything  were  not 
in  a  very  bad  vpay,  his  vocation  would  be  gone.  This 
state  of  mind  is  not  due  to  perversity,  but  to  blindness. 
To  be  a  reformer  one  must  have  intense  feeling ;  but  in- 
tense feeling  excludes  clear  thinking.  Fervor  and  logic 
are  mutual  exclusives.* 

On  a  priori  as  well  as  on  a  posteriori  grounds,  we  may 
be  sure  that  in  Pestalozzi's  time  the  European  car  of 
progress  was  not  going  in  a  direction  entirely  wrong,  for 
it  is  inconceivable  that  a  civilization  into  which  the  best 
men  of  their  times  had  put  their  wisest  thoughts  could 
be  wholly  at  variance  with  truth ;  and  in  the  fact  that 
Pestalozzi  made  no  marked  change  in  the  direction  of 
European  civilization,  we  have  a  second  proof  that  the 
original  movement  was,  in  the  main,  right. 

The  principle  above  quoted  teaches  a  decent  respect 
for  the  old,  and  cautions  us  against  the  panaceas  that  will 
be  invented  from  time  to  time  by  ardent  reformers. 

2.  Another  precautionary  truth  is  the  following:  "TA^ 
suppression  of  every  error  is  commonly  followed  hy  a 
temporary  ascendency  of  the  contrary  oneP  f  This  law 
accounts  for  many  phenomena  in  the  history  of  educa- 
tional thought.  One  phase  of  a  complex  truth,  pushed 
to  an  extreme,  finally  ends  in  a  recoil  to  the  other  phase 

*  "  In  general,  narrowness  of  view  is  one  of  the  conditions  of 
vigor  in  action.  If  one  has  a  wide  intelligence  and  considers  the 
froH  and  cons,  reasons  press  forward,  multiply,  and  mutually  de- 
stroy one  another ;  those  who  are  given  to  meditation  are  naturally 
inactive.  They  are  '  spectators  rather  than  doers,'  as  Descartes  said 
of  himself.  On  the  other  hand,  the  more  exact  and  definite  one's 
views  are,  the  more  energy  he  displays  in  action." — Marion,  c?;?.  cit.^ 
p.  39. 

t  Spencer,  "  Education,"  p.  103. 


22  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

of  the  truth.  The  over-nse  of  memory,  in  the  olden 
schools,  has  been  succeeded  by  its  disuse  in  the  new ;  and 
so  we  have  gone  from  much  grammar  to  no  grammar ; 
from  instruction  in  the  abstract  to  instruction  in  the 
concrete ;  from  much  classics  and  little  science,  to  little 
classics  and  much  science ;  from  books  without  pictures, 
to  books  with  very  little  except  pictures ;  from  unlimited 
text-book  instruction  to  unlimited  oral  instruction  ;  from 
discipline  by  ferule  to  discipline  by  coaxing. 

The  two  principles  just  stated  are  needed  in  order  to 
give  steadiness  and  judicial  fairness  to  our  investigations. 
Is  wholesale  condemnation  decreed  against  some  time- 
honored  subject  or  method  ?  Before  joining  in  the  noise 
of  the  crusade,  let  us  recollect  that  in  all  probability  there 
is  something  to  be  said  in  favor  of  the  outcast. 

Is  some  new  all-in-all  put  forward  with  much-voiced 
fervor,  as  a  sure  specific  for  the  ills  of  the  schools  ?  "We 
may  not  only  discount  the  merits  of  the  last  favorite  at 
a  heavy  rate,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  not  far  oJff  is  some 
discarded  truth  in  need  of  our  protection.  If  one  hither- 
to unacquainted  with  educational  affairs  were  to  hear  for 
the  first  time  the  extravagant  claims  set  up  in  favor  of 
oral  instruction,  he  might  reasonably  make  three  infer- 
ences :  (1)  That  there  had  been  some  misuse  of  text-book 
instruction ;  (2)  that  the  discarded  system  had  a  consider- 
able element  of  truth  in  it ;  and  (3)  that  oral  instiniction 
is  not  worth  nearly  all  that  is  said  of  it.  In  order  to 
make  sure  and  steady  progress  in  educational  science,  the 
one  indispensable  condition  is  "  that  we  henceforth  be  no 
more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with 
every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of  men,  and  cunning 
craftiness."  * 

♦  Epliesiaus  iv,,  14, 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  23 

These  two  truths  point  unmistakably  to  a  conservative 
frame  of  mind.  Such,  I  believe,  should  be  the  attitude 
of  the  educational  philosopher.  He  should  mediate  be- 
tween the  past  and  the  future,  and  his  highest  achieve- 
ment will  be,  with  the  least  noise,  to  evolve  the  new  out 
of  the  old,  a  better  future  out  of  a  good  past.  He  will 
be  neither  retrogressive  nor  stationary  ;  he  will  be  a  pro- 
gressive conservative.  His  motto  will  be  nihil  per  sal- 
turn.  He  will  not  desire  revolution,  but  evolution.  It 
is  Emerson  who  says  to  the  radical :  "  Tiie  past  has  baked 
your  loaf,  and  in  the  strength  of  its  bread  you  would 
break  up  the  oven."  The  ideal  position,  could  we  ever 
find  it,  is  somewhat  in  advance  of  the  timid  conservative 
and  somewhat  in  the  rear  of  the  ardent  radical.  How- 
ever it  may  be  in  other  matters,  I  feel  sure  that  whoever 
becomes  a  careful  student  of  the  history  and  the  philos- 
ophy of  education  will  soon  come  to  occupy  this  middle 
ground ;  for  history  is  retrospective  and  science  prospec- 
tive ;  and  the  mind  that  is  subject  to  their  double  influ- 
ence is  the  resultant  of  two  opposing  forces. 

I  now  come  to  the  final  part  of  my  task,  which  is  to 
state  some  of  the  more  important  problems  that  await  a 
solution  by  educational  science.  In  stating  these  prob- 
lems I  shall  doubtless,  through  inadvertence  or  purpose, 
indicate  a  probable  solution ;  and  in  this  way  there 
may  be  seeming  dogmatism,  but  it  is  only  seeming. 
I  would  abridge  no  one's  liberty  to  form  and  express  his 
own  sincere  conclusions ;  and  some  serious  thinking  on 
these  problems  is  my  excuse  for  indicating  the  line  of  my 
conclusions.  As  they  seem  to  me,  these  are  some  of  the 
questions  that  demand  an  early  solution  : 

1.  In  what  relation  does  professional,  technical,  or 
practical  education  stand  to  liberal  education?    What  is 


34  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  ideal  sequence?  Is  this  sequence  disturbed  by  the 
exigencies  of  life,  such  as  limited  time  or  the  need  of 
engaging  in  productive  labor  ?  Should  liberal  education 
and  professional  education  be  carried  on  simultaneously  ? 
Tiie  solution  of  this  general  problem  will  affect  such 
questions  as  the  following :  (1)  The  introduction  of  man- 
ual training  into  the  public  schools;  (2)  The  education 
given  in  agricultural  schools ;  (3)  Academic  instruction 
and  professional  instruction  in  normal  schools. 

2.  Somewhat  analogous  to  the  preceding  problem,  but 
depending  on  different  principles  for  its  solution,  is  this : 
Should  mental  labor  and  manual  labor  be  closely  con- 
joined. Is  there  not  an  organic  antagonism  that  involves 
a  failure  in  one  or  both  when  pursued  simultaneously.  * 
If  it  is  decided  that  this  conjunction  is  unwise,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule,  there  is  still  the  question  whether  it  may  not 
be  necessary  in  certain  cases,  as  in  schools  for  dependent 
children.  In  all  problems  of  this  sort,  the  ideal  adjust- 
ment must  be  distinguished  from  an  adjustment  required 
by  exigencies;  and  whenever  two  solutions,  a  general 
and  a  special,  are  permitted,  the  special  cases  should  be 
defined  with  all  possible  exactness. 

3.  What  is  the  nature  of  what  is  termed  culture,  and 
what  are  the  conditions  essential  for  attaining  it?  Are 
these  its  characteristic  marks :  On  the  moral  side,  kind- 
ness, sympathy,  sincerity,  tact ;  and  on  the  mental,  wide 
discrimination,  quick  perceptions,  and  an  extensive  knowl- 


*  "  It  is  impossible  for  the  mind  and  body  both  to  labor  at  the 
same  time,  as  each  labor  is  productive  of  contrary  evils ;  the  labor 
of  the  body  preventing  the  progress  of  the  mind,  and  the  mind  of 
the  body." — Aristotle,  "  Politics  "  (Walford's  translation,  London, 
1881),  book  viii.,  chap.  iv. 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.    25 

edge  of  what  is  of  the  most  universal  human  interest?* 
Is  the  study  of  the  purely  material  conducive  to  culture  ? 
Or  must  culture,  on  the  mental  side,  come  mainly  from 
the  contemplation  and  study  of  the  supersensuous,  i.  e., 
the  mental,  the  moral,  and  the  divine  ? 

The  solution  of  this  problem  will  affect  the  function 
of  tlie  sciences  and  of  the  humanities  in  the  higher  edu- 
cation. If  the  answer  shall  be  found  to  lie  in  the  direc- 
tion I  have  indicated,  a  higher  value  must  be  given  to 
geography,  history,  language,  literature,  mental  and  mor- 
al science.  Here  will  be  found  one  criterion  for  deter- 
mining the  education  value  of  studies. 

4.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  "practical,"  in 
such  expressions  as  "practical  education,"  "practical 
studies  "  ?  Is  it  the  correlative  of  "  theoretical,"  implying 
the  outward  manifestation  of  inward  power  ?  If  the  term 
merely  means  the  quality  of  self-preservation,  what  degree 
of  practical  value  have  the  natural  sciences  to  the  ordinary 
student  ?  For  individual,  and  not  professional,  use,  what 
degree  of  practical  value  has  physiology  to  the  physi- 
cian, chemistry  to  the  chemist,  or  natural  philosophy  to 
the  machinist  ?  The  purpose  of  these  questions  is  to 
point  out  two  sources  of  misapprehension,  (1)  the  am- 
biguity of  the  term  "  practical,"  and  (2)  the  assumption, 
not  warranted  by  evidence,  that  the  so-called  "  practical 
subjects"  have  a  primary  bearing  on  individual  needs. 
The  secondary,  or  professional,  value  of  physiological 
knowledge  is  incalculable ;  while  its  primary  or  individ- 
ual value  is  comparatively  small.  It  is  only  when  we 
give  a  larger  content  to  tl^p  terra  that  physiology  and 
kindred  subjects  can  claim  a  high  educational  value. 

5.  In  the  body  of  this  chapter  I  have  mentioned  the  de- 

*  See  Plato's  conception  of  the  cultured  man,  p.  288. 
2 


86  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

termination  of  education  values  as  an  important  aim  of 
educational  science.  With  such  values  even  approxi- 
mately determined,  the  rationalizing  of  the  teaching  art 
would  at  once  begin.  The  thought  of  making  such  de- 
terminations is  a  very  old  one.  Plato  attempts  such  an 
inquiry  in  his  "  Republic,"  and  recommends,  among  oth- 
er things,  that  arithmetic  should  be  made  a  compulsory 
study,  on  account  of  its  great  disciplinary  value;  and 
Aristotle  devotes  the  greater  part  of  the  eighth  book  of 
his  "  Politics "  to  a  discussion  of  the  education  value  of 
music.  Lord  Bacon  gives  a  summary  statement  in  his 
essay  "  On  Studies;"  and  Dr.  Whewell  discusses,  at  con- 
siderable length,  the  values  of  mathematics,  the  classics, 
and  the  sciences.  Still,  the  whole  subject  needs  to  bo 
investigated  anew,  with  all  the  lights  and  helps  that  our 
better  opportunities  supply.  This  inquiry  belongs  to  the 
inductive  branch  of  educational  science,  and  will  be  dis- 
cussed in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

6.  The  third  term  whose  meaning  should  be  rigorous- 
ly determined  is  the  word  "nature"  in  its  personified 
use,  as  in  the  cant  of  educational  literature,  "  the  order 
of  nature,"  "  nature's  method,"  "  follow  nature."  'Next 
to  the  flippant  use  of  the  phrase  "  new  education,"  there 
is  nothing  more  indicative  of  the  low  state  of  thinking 
among  us  than  the  reckless  use  of  this  term  "nature." 
What  contempt  would  be  heaped  on  a  modern  scientist 
who  should  explain  a  phenomenon  by  saying  that "  Nature 
abhors  a  vacuum  !"  But  Joseph  Payne's  "  Nature  teach- 
es her  children  by  object  lessons,"  is  just  as  indefensible. 
If  we  must  still  use  these  phrases,  let  us  know  the  exact 
connotation  of  the  word  "  nature."  * 

7.  What  is  the  relation  of  clear  knowing  to  right  do- 
*  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  term  see  Chapter  VII. 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.    27 

iiig  ?  Socrates  identified  knowledge  with  virtue,  holding 
that  if  a  man  did  wrong  it  was  because  he  was  ignorant. 
The  Jews  held  nearly  the  same  doctrine,  and  the  moral 
instruction  in  the  mediseval  schools  was  based  on  the 
same  assumption.  This  has  been  the  current  belief 
wherever  education  has  been  administered  by  the  Church, 
but  with  the  secularization  of  education  has  come  the 
opinion  that  there  is  no  essential  connection  between 
knowledge  and  morality.  Probably  there  is  error  at  both 
extremes,  the  truth  being  that  knowledge  is  helpful  to 
morality.  State  patronage  of  education  is  based  on  the 
old  notion  of  the  moral  quality  in  instruction.  Wheth- 
er this  is  a  fiction  or  not  is  well  worth  the  finding  out. 

8.  An  inquiry  into  the  mental  condition  of  savages 
will  show  that,  concurrent  with  the  acutest  sense-training, 
there  is  intellectual  ineptness  amounting  almost  to  stu- 
pidity. This  conjunction  raises  the  query  whether  the 
modern  doctrine  as  to  the  e£Fect  of  sense-training  on  in- 
telligence is  well  founded.  The  fact  just  cited  at  least 
permits  a  reasonable  doubt  on  this  point.  The  question 
involves  the  formal  objective  teaching  of  the  time,  and 
even  the  kindergarten.  It  is  well  to  recollect  that  an- 
cient teaching  was  almost  purely  subjective,  and  that  the 
greater  educational  reformers,  Katich,  Comenins,  and 
Pestalozzi,  employed  objective  instruction  chiefly  to  teach 
the  meaning  of  words.  A  modern  instance  of  this  sub- 
jective mode  of  instruction  may  be  seen  in  the  "Record  " 
of  Mr.  Alcott's  school,  by  Miss  Peabody. 

There  is  psychological  ground  for  thinking  that  the 

savage  exhibits  the  normal  effect  of  an  over-training  of 

the  senses ;  for  "  knowledge  and  feeling,*  though  always 

eo-existent,  arc  always  in  the  inverse  ratio  of  each  other." 

*  Ilamiltoii,  "Metaphysics"  (Boston,  18G8),  p.  336. 


28  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

9.  The  latest  criterion  for  judging  of  the  quality  of 
teaching  is  the  amount  of  pleasure-giving  that  it  fur- 
nishes. While  no  one  questions  that  good  teaching  will 
inspire  a  general  air  of  happiness,  there  are  very  many 
who  insist  that  work  is  not  always  pleasure-giving,  but 
that  even  such  work  must  be  done  in  every  good  school. 
This  is  a  psychological  problem  of  no  great  difficulty, 
and  its  solution  would  set  at  rest  a  disputed  question  of 
great  importance.  It  will  probably  be  found  that  a  study 
may  be  disagreeable  because  it  involves  a  mode  of  men- 
tal activity  that  has  never  been  developed,  or  that  has 
fallen  into  disuse ;  and  so  the  study  maj'  serve  a  far  bet- 
ter purpose  than  one  that  accords  with  the  free  working 
of  a  well-developed  power.  The  distribution  of  mental 
aliment  follows  the  same  law  as  the  distribution  of  phys- 
ical aliment;  the  more  vigorous  faculty  or  organ  will 
take  the  lion's  share,  while  the  weaker  faculty  or  organ 
will  be  left  to  starve.  We  know  that  this  is  a  law  even 
of  the  spiritual  life  :  "  For  he  that  hath,  to  him  shall  be 
given ;  and  he  that  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 
even  that  which  he  hath." 

10.  But  perhaps  the  largest  problem  of  all  is  this :  To 
what  extent  is  it  true  that  education  should  be  a  process 
of  rediscovery,  the  pupil  being  placed  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble in  the  tracks  of  the  first  of  his  race?  Mr.  Spencer 
has  formulated  the  principle  as  follows :  "  The  educa- 
tion of  the  child  must  accord,  both  in  mode  and  arrange- 
ment, with  the  education  of  mankind  as  considered  his- 
torically ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  genesis  of  knowledge 
in  the  individual  must  follow  the  same  course  as  the 
genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  race."  The  earliest  appear- 
ance of  this  doctrine  is  in  the  Introduction  to  Condillac's 
"  Grammaire,"  whore  it  is  stated  and  discnsscd  with  great 


ITS  NATURE,  ITS  METHOD,  AND  SOME  OF  ITS  PROBLEMS.  29 

fiiluess.  Condillac  attempted  to  follow  this  historical 
method  in  the  education  of  the  Dnke  of  Parma;  but,  in 
order  to  make  it  work  successfully,  he  was  obliged  to  give 
his  pupil  a  preliminary  course  of  instruction  in  mental  and 
moral  science !  I  believe  this  seductive  generalization  to 
be  the  largest  assumption  yet  made  in  the  line  of  educa- 
tional thinking.  The  so-called  "  Pestalozzian  Princi- 
ples "  are  but  the  corollaries  to  this  theorem  that  has 
never  been  demonstrated.  If  we  are  permitted  to  think 
that  the  dictum  of  Condillac  and  Spencer  may  not  be 
final,  here  is  a  most  inviting  and  profitable  field  for 
study.* 

11.  The  last  question  that  I  venture  to  call  attention 
to  is  this:  How  are  books  instrumental  in  gaining  knowl- 
edge? Is  the  transmission  of  knowledge  possible,  or 
must  each  man  gain  knowledge  by  the  independent  ac- 
tivity of  his  own  mind  ?  When  a  wise  man  dies,  does 
his  Wisdom  go  with  him,  as  we  liave  recently  been  in- 
formed ?f  To  state  this  general  question  in  a  concrete 
form :  What  is  the  action  of  the  mind  when  we  read  in 
the  almanac  that  "  there  will  be  a  total  eclipse  of  the 
sun  May  6th,  1883,  visible  in  the  Southern  Pacific  Ocean"? 
In  order  that  this  statement  may  be  converted  into 
knowledge,  must  the  simple  reader  turn  astronomer,  and 
by  personal  investigation  verify  the  prediction?  If  the 
domain  of  knowledge  is  to  be  limited  to  what  we  actual- 
ly verify  by  our  own  experience,  it  is  high  time  that  wo 
be  undeceived.  Is  it  or  is  it  not  true  that  we  know  our 
own  names  ? 

*  This  question  is  discussed  at  length  in  Cliaptcr  V. 
t  John  W.  Dickinson,  "  Oral  Teaching :  its  Proper  Limits  and 
Methods."    A  Prize  Essay  (Boston,  1880),  p.  17. 


80  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  agency  of  language,  or  the  mode  in  which  we  ac- 
quire our  second-hand  knowledge, is  not  easy  to  explain; 
but  the  difficulty  is  not  insuperable,  and,  when  overcome, 
we  shall  be  protected  from  such  absurdities  as  the  ones 
I  have  indicated.  That  such  loose  thinking  is  possible 
is  of  itself  a  sufficient  justification  for  this  appeal  in  bo- 
half  of  educational  science. 

In  the  chapters  that  follow  I  shall  discuss  at  greater 
length  some  of  the  questions  that  have  here  been  stated 
in  outline. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  THE  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION 
VALUES. 

TnE  conception  that  knowledge  is  mental  food,  and 
that  study  is  a  mental  gymnastic,  is  a  very  ancient  one. 
The  fact  of  mental  and  moral  growth  was  as  clear  to 
David  *  as  it  was  to  Pestalozzi.  In  the  "  Republic," 
Plato  discusses  the  value  of  music,  gymnastics,  arithme- 
tic, poetry,  geometry,  astronomy,  and  dialectic  (logic)  as 
means  of  mental  discipline ;  and,  in  the  "  Politics,"  Aris- 
totle takes  up  the  same  line  of  inquiry,  and  leaves  us  an 
unequalled  dissertation  on  the  educational  claims  of  mu- 
sic. In  Greek  thought  there  was  not  only  the  concep- 
tion that  knowledge  is  aliment,  but,  above  all,  that  the 
effort  of  the  mind  to  master  its  knowledge  is  the  main 
condition  of  growth.  The  soul  was  not  so  much  to  be 
furnished  with  instruments  for  use  as  to  be  beautified, 
ennobled,  and  perfected,  as  itself  the  contemplated  ego. 
The  Greek  philosopher  did  not  conceive  of  knowledge 
as  a  utility,  but  rather  as  the  means  by  which  the  soul 
could  rise  to  the  contemplation  of  the  true,  the  beautiful, 
and  the  good. 

The  disciplinary,  not  the  practical,  value  of  knowledge 
was  uppermost  in  Greek  thought.f 

*  Psalm  i. 

t  "  Therefore,  Glaucon,  it  will  be  proper  to  enforce  the  study  [of 
arithmetic]  by  legislative  enactment,  and  to  persuade  those  who 
arc  destined  to  take  part  in  the  weightiest  affairs  of  state  to  study 


82  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Coming  down  to  later  times,  we  find  Lord  Bacon  dis- 
cussing the  education  values  of  studies.  His  conception 
seems  to  be  tliat  study  is  a  medicine  or  a  remedy,  rather 
than  a  food.  Thus  he  says  :  "  There  is  no  stond  or  im- 
pediment in  the  wit,  but  may  be  wrought  out  by  fit  stud- 
ies ;  like  as  diseases  of  the  body  may  have  appropriate 
exercises."*  Here,  too,  knowledge  is  rated  chiefly  for  its 
disciplinary  value.  The  infirmities  of  the  mind  are  weak- 
nesses, and  hence  are  to  be  cured  by  development  through 
exercise.  For  example,  if  the  power  of  discriminating 
is  weak,  it  is  to  be  raised  by  exercise — the  pupil  must 
engage  in  hair-splitting  with  the  schoolmen. 

calculation  and  devote  themselves  to  it,  not  like  amateurs,  but  per- 
severingly,  until,  by  the  aid  of  pure  reason,  they  have  attained  to 
the  contemplation  of  the  nature  of  numbers;  not  cultivating  it 
"with  a  view  to  buying  and  selling,  as  merchants  or  shopkeepers, 
but  for  purposes  of  war,  and  to  facilitate  the  conversion  of  the 
Boul  itself  from  the  changeable  to  the  true  and  the  real  " — "  Repub- 
lic," 525. 

*  The  whole  of  this  quotation  is  too  instructive  to  be  omitted: 
*' Histories  make  men  "Wise;  Poets  Witty;  the  MatJiematicks  Sub- 
till;  Natnrall  PJnlosopJiy  deepe;  Morall  Grave;  Logick  and  Ithet- 
orick  Able  to  Contend.  Aheunt  studia  in  Mores.  Nay,  there  is  no 
Stond  or  Impediment  in  the  Wit,  but  may  be  wrought  out  by  Fit 
Studies.  Like  as  Diseases  of  the  Body  may  have  Appropriate 
Exercises.  Bowling  is  good  for  the  Stone  and  Reines;  Shooting 
for  the  Lungs  and  Breast;  Gentle  Walking  for  the  Stomacke; 
Riding  for  the  Head ;  And  the  like.  So  if  a  Man's  Wit  be  Wander- 
ing, let  him  Study  the  Mathematics;  for,  in  Demonstrations,  if  his 
Wit  be  called  away  never  so  little,  he  must  begin  again.  If  his 
Wit  be  not  Apt  to  distinguish  or  find  differences,  let  him  Study  the 
School-men;  For  they  are  Cymini  sectores.  If  he  be  not  Apt  to  beat 
over  Matters,  and  to  call  up  one  Thing,  to  Prove  and  Illustrate  an- 
other, let  him  Study  the  Lawyers  Cases.  So  every  Defect  of  the 
Minde  may  have  a  Speciall  Reccit." — Bacon,  "  Of  Studies." 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  88 

Neither  the  Greek  philosophers  nor  Lord  Bacon  at- 
tempted any  classification  of  subjects  as  a  means  of  esti- 
mating and  marking  their  education  values.  Whatever 
scientific  prevision  their  discussion  has,  is  qualitative  and 
not  quantitative,  and  qualitative  in  only  the  most  gen- 
eral sense  of  the  term.  Music  and  gymnastic  must  be 
studied  as  mutual  correctives,  the  tendency  of  music 
alone  being  to  make  the  soul  soft  and  yielding,  and  that 
of  gymnastic  alone  being  to  make  it  hard  and  rigid ;  "  or 
if  a  man's  wit  (attention)  be  wandering,  let  him  study 
the  mathematics." 

In  his  "Cambridge  Education"  (London,  1850),  Dr. 
Whewell  attempts  a  somewhat  elaborate  treatment  of 
the  subject  in  a  quasi-scientific  way.  He  sets  up  a  clas- 
sification of  subjects  as  a  means  of  determining  the  rel- 
ative values  of  the  classics  and  the  mathematics  on  the 
one  hand,  and  of  the  sciences  and  the  modem  languages 
on  the  other.  He  distributes  studies  into  two  classes, 
the  permanent  and  the  progressive.  "  To  the  former 
class  belong  those  portions  of  knowledge  which  have 
long  taken  their  permanent  shape — ancient  languages, 
with  their  literature,  and  long-established  demonstrated 
sciences.  To  the  latter  class  belong  the  results  of  the 
mental  activity  of  our  own  times — the  literature  of  our 
own  age,  and  the  sciences  in  which  men  are  making 
progress  from  day  to  day.  The  former  class  of  subjects 
connects  us  with  the  past,  the  latter  with  the  present  and 
the  future  "  (pp.  5,  6).  From  this  classification  Dr.  Whe- 
well draws  two  inferences  :  1.  That,  as  the  learner  must 
become  conscious  both  of  a  past  and  of  a  present  human- 
ity, he  should  study  both  classes  of  subjects.  2.  That,  as 
a  knowledge  of  the  past  is  a  necessary  condition  for  un- 
derstanding the  present  and  forecasting  the  future,  tho 

2* 


34  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

permanent  studies  should  form  the  earlier  and  major 
part  of  one's  liberal  education.  Dr.  Whe well's  treat- 
ment of  the  question  has  scarcely  a  greater  degree  of 
prevision  than  Plato's  or  Bacon's. 

The  classification  seems  to  have  been  invented  to  serve 
a  special  purpose ;  but,  granting  that  it  serves  this  pur- 
pose well  (which  admits  of  doubt),  the  limit  of  its  use- 
fulness is  reached.  It  reminds  us  of  Aristotle's  classifi- 
cation of  men  as  the  naturally  strong  and  the  naturally 
weak,  as  the  basis  of  his  argument  in  favor  of  human 
slavery.* 

In  1835  Dr.  Whewell  published  his  celebrated  pamph- 
let, entitled  "  Thoughts  on  the  Study  of  Mathematics  as  a 
Part  of  a  Liberal  Education,"  and  this  provoked  from  Sir 
William  Hamilton  one  of  the  most  vigorous  pieces  of  edu- 
cational polemics  that  has  ever  appeared.  Dr.  Whewell 
put  forward  the  claims  of  mathematics  as  an  invalua- 
ble factor  in  a  liberal  education,  and  contrasted  this  study 
'somewhat  unfavorably  with  logic.  Sir  William  Hamil- 
ton felt  challenged  to  defend  philosophy  against  what  he 
regarded  as  the  unjust  pretensions  of  mathematics,  and 
to  this  controversy  we  owe  the  most  brilliant  contribu- 
tion ever  made  to  the  science  of  education  values.  The 
character  of  the  criticism  as  a  whole  may  be  quite  fairly 
estimated  from  this  quotation  :  "  From  this  general  con- 
trast it  will  easily  be  seen  how  an  excessive  study  of  the 
mathematical  sciences  not  only  does  not  prepare  but  ab- 
solutely incapacitates  the  mind  for  those  intellectual  en- 
ergies which  life  and  philosophy  require.  We  are  thus 
disqualified  for  observation,  either  internal  or  external, 
for  abstraction  and  generalization,  and  for  common  rea- 

*  "  Politics,"  book  i.,  ch.  vi. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  85 

soning ;  nay,  disposed  to  the  alternative  of  blind  credu- 
lity or  of  irrational  scepticism.''^  * 

While  the  impartial  reader  cannot  fail  to  admire  the 
cleverness  and  vigor  of  this  masterly  critique,  he  will 
also  be  sensible  that  the  conclusions  are  somewhat  parti- 
san and  biassed.  For  us,  this  discussion  of  the  education 
value  of  mathematics  has  the  obvious  disadvantage  of 
being  negative  rather  than  positive.  For  the  purpose  of 
this  inquiry  we  need  to  know  the  plus  values  of  mathe- 
matics; though  we  must  allow  that  it  is  a  substantial 
gain  to  know  what  the  study  cannot  do. 

The  next  notable  attempt  at  the  fixing  of  education 
values  is  that  of  Mr.  Herbert  Spencer,  in  his  essay  enti- 
tled, "  What  Knowledge  is  of  most  Worth  ?"  The  very 
elaborate  way  in  which  Mr.  Spencer  sets  about  answering 
this  question  is  one  of  the  seductive  features  of  this  much- 
lauded  essay.  "  Tliere  must  be  some  striking  and  valid 
outcome  of  a  discussion  that  is  heralded  with  such  im- 
posing formalities,"  the  reader  thinks,  and  so  he  listens 
reverently  and  obediently  to  the  deliverances  of  the  ora- 
cle. This  is  a  characteristic  part  of  the  prelude :  "  If 
there  needs  any  further  evidence  of  the  rude,  undevel- 
oped character  of  our  education,  we  have  it  in  the  fact 
that  the  comparative  worths  of  the  different  kinds  of 
knowledge  have  been  as  yet  scarcely  even  discussed — 
much  less  discussed  in  a  methodic  way,  with  definite  re- 
sults. Not  only  is  it  that  no  standard  of  relative  values 
has  been  agreed  upon,  but  the  existence  of  any  such 
standard  has  not  been  conceived  in  any  clear  manner. 
And  not  only  is  it  that  the  existence  of  any  such  stand- 

*  "  Discussions  on  Philosophy  and  Literature  "  (New  York,  1868), 
p.  375. 


86  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ard  has  not  been  clearly  conceived,  but  the  need  for  it 
seems  to  have  been  scarcely  felt."* 

"In  education,  then,  this  is  the  question  of  questions, 
which  it  is  high  time  we  discussed  in  some  raethodic 
way.  The  first  in  importance,  though  last  to  be  consid- 
ered, is  the  problem  how  to  decide  among  the  conflict- 
ing claims  of  various  subjects  on  our  attention.  Before 
there  can  be  a  rational  curriculum^  Ave  must  settle  which 
things  it  most  concerns  us  to  know ;  or,  to  use  a  word  of 
Bacon's,  now  unfortunately  obsolete,  we  must  determine 
the  relative  values  of  knowledges."  f 

I  make  these  quotations  to  illustrate  a  way  Mr.  Spen- 
cer has  of  capturing  his  reader's  approval  by  means  of  a 
cunning  jpilce  de  resistance^  and  also  because  they  are 
statements  of  fact  that  require  our  discriminating  atten- 
tion. This  writer's  argument  will  be  more  conveniently 
discussed  further  on.  It  suffices  here  to  say  that  he  car- 
ries the  reader  to  the  irresistible  and  triumphant  conclu- 
sion that  the  knowledge  that  is  of  the  most  worth  is 
Science  ;  and  that  by  Science  Mr.  Spencer  means  all  the 
branches  of  human  knowledge  save  literature  and  his- 
tory. X  It  must  be  confessed  that  this  is  very  far  from 
the  result  we  were  promised — "  a  determination  of  the 
relative  values  of  knowledges."  It  is  very  like  this  con- 
clusion of  an  elaborate  inquiry  into  the  relative  dietetical 

*  "  Education,"  pp.  26,  27.  f  Ibid.,  p.  29. 

X  In  this  essay  Mr.  Spencer  gives  no  formal  definition  of  science, 
but  his  conception  of  it  is  to  be  gathered  passim.  The  nearest  ap- 
proach to  a  definition  is  the  following :  "  To  the  slowly  growing 
acquaintance  with  the  uniform  coexistences  and  sequences  of  phe- 
nomena—  to  the  establishment  of  invariable  laws,  we  owe  our 
emancipation  from  the  grossest  superstitions." — "Education,"  p. 
95. 


EDUCxVTION  VALUES.  87 

values  of  different  foods — "  tliey  are  all  very  valuable 
save  two."  Evidently  what  we  need  to  know  is  not 
merely  that  the  sciences  en  masse  have  a  supreme  value, 
but  what  special  purpose  is  served  by  each  of  the  sci- 
ences ;  whether  physiology,  for  example,  is  to  be  esteemed 
chiefly  for  its  practical  value,  or  for  its  disciplinary  value ; 
whether  its  practical  value  is  of  the  primary  or  of  the 
secondary  order — that  is,  whether  each  person  must  have 
this  knowledge,  or  whether  he  may  avail  himself  of  it  at 
second  hand,  as  when  he  employs  a  physician  in  case  of 
need ;  and  finally,  whether  the  acquirement  of  this  knowl- 
edge affects  some  special  mode  or  modes  of  mental  activ- 
ity, or  whether  it  raises  the  whole  tone  of  the  mental  or- 
ganism. I  make  this  statement  to  show  that  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's conclusion  is  as  indiscriminating  and  unscientific  as 
Dr.  Whewell's.  I  think  it  will  appear  in  the  sequel  that 
it  has  neither  the  scientific  accuracy  nor  the  fruitful  pre- 
vision of  Plato's  implied  distinction.  In  educational  po- 
lemics, Mr.  Spencer's  effort  may  be  regarded  as  an  offset 
to  Dr.  Whewell's. 

Mr.  Bain  devotes  the  fifth  chapter  of  his  "  Education  as 
a  Science"  to  the  discussion  of  education  values,  and  the 
same  subject  is  pursued,  in  an  informal  way,  in  subse- 
quent portions  of  his  work.  These  discussions  are  char- 
acterized by  largeness  of  view,  catholicity  of  spirit,  and 
eminent  judicial  fairness.  The  critical  reader  cannot 
fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  conviction  that  his  author 
lias  emancipated  himself  from  prejudice,  and  is  in  the 
zealous  pursuit  of  truth  for  truth's  sake.  In  the  main, 
Mr.  Bain's  discussion  of  education  values  is  the  applica- 
tion of  common-sense  to  the  solution  of  this  complex 
problem.  lie  marks  the  distinction  between  studies  that 
end  in  useful  information  and  studies  that  end  in  disci- 


45580 


88  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

pline,  and  holds  that  the  practical  sciences  contribute  bnt 
little  to  mental  training.  Mr.  Bain  is  wholly  occupied 
with  the  qualitative  education  values  of  subjects ;  he  dis- 
cusses the  kind  of  effect  produced  by  science  and  lan- 
guage, but  does  not  discuss  the  degree  in  which  allied 
subjects  affect  the  mind,  or  the  degree  in  which  the  so- 
called  practical  subjects  serve  for  guidance.  The  large- 
ness of  the  author's  thought  seems  to  forbid  precision  of 
statement,  and  this  indefiniteness  often  leaves  the  reader 
in  an  unpleasant  state  of  suspense.  Even  with  these 
qualifications,  Mr.  Bain's  treatment  of  this  theme  has  a 
large,  substantial  value,  and  is,  doubtless,  the  ablest  con- 
tribution that  has  been  made  to  the  discussion  of  this 
historic  problem.  So  far  as  I  know,  we  are  indebted  to 
this  writer  for  the  term  "  education  values."  At  least, 
it  is  from  him  that  I  have  borrowed  it. 

The  last  contribution  to  the  discussion  of  education 
values  that  I  shall  notice  is  that  made  by  Mr.  Latham 
in  his  work  "  On  the  Action  of  Examinations."  *   He  ob- 

*  The  bearing  of  the  science  of  education  values  on  the  practice 
of  education  is  well  exhibited  in  the  following  quotation :  "  I  be- 
lieve that  mental  physiology  will  one  day  be  recognized  practically 
in  education.  The  time  may  come  when  certain  peculiarities  of 
mind  may  be  recognized  as  *  indicating,'  or '  counter-indicating,'  in 
medical  phraseology,  the  use  of  certain  kinds  of  mental  exertion. 
A  science  of  observation  may  be  prescribed  in  one  case,  some  study 
which  enforces  concentration  of  attention  in  another,  while  one 
whicli  involves  'introspection'  may  be  strictly  prohibited  in  a 
third.  "We  may  even  have  hereafter  a  medical  branch  of  the  edu- 
cational profession ;  we  may  have  persons  who  shall  make  it  their 
business  to  understand  mental  constitutions,  and  to  advise  parents 
as  to  the  course  to  be  followed  with  youths  of  peculiar  or  sliglitly 
morbid  turns  of  mind.  I  am  aware  that  what  I  hint  at  would  afford 
a  tempting  field  for  quackery,  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  feel  sure  that 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  89 

serves :  "  There  are  studies  wliicli  aim  at  endowing  the 
student  with  a  power  which  he  can  be  called  on  to  put 
in  practice,  and  others  which  store  and  cultivate  the 
mind,  but  convey  no  new  power  that  can  be  exercised" 
(p.  86).  We  then  have  art  subjects,  such  as  mathemat- 
ics, language,  and  grammar ;  and  knowledge  subjects,  such 
as  history,  geography,  and  literature.  The  first  kind  of 
knowledge  may  end  in  doing,  the  second  ends  in  merely 
knowing.  An  examination  in  subjects  of  the  first  kind 
permits  us  to  discover  whether  real  assimilation  has  taken 
place,  whether  mental  power  has  been  gained ;  while  an 
examination  in  subjects  of  the  second  order  is  at  best  a 
test  of  memory.  This  is  a  distinction  that  would  read- 
ily occur  to  the  mind  of  a  professional  examiner  like  Mr. 
Latham.  By  an  examination  in  geometry  he  can  test 
a  boy's  power  to  do ;  while  there  is  nothing  in  history  or 
geography  that  can  be  used  to  test  the  pupil's  construct- 
ive ability.  While  this  distinction  is  obvious,  it  is  super- 
ficial, for  it  assumes  that  culture  and  power  belong  to 
different  categories.  Mr.  Latham  misses  a  distinction 
which  I  shall  hereafter  attempt  to  make  plain — that  be- 
tween the  specific  effect  of  a  study,  and  its  tonic,  consti- 
tutional, or  culture  effect.  The  specific  effect  of  a  sub- 
ject like  arithmetic  is  obvious,  because  it  is  concentrated  ; 
while  the  tonic  effect  of  a  subject  like  history  is  obscure, 
because  it  is  diffused.  The  element  of  power  is  present 
in  both  cases.  In  the  first  it  is  focused  on  one  point,  and 
so  can  be  tested  and  recorded — it  is  palpable,  so  to  speak. 
In  the  second  this  power  is  evenly  diffused,  and  appears 

immense  good  might  be  effected  by  a  wise  practitioner  -who  should 
unite  a  sound  knowledge  of  mental  physiology  with  a  practical  ac- 
quaintance with  the  work  of  education"  (pp.  327,  328). 


40  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

only  on  those  occasions  which  involve  the  whole  man. 
A  specilic  subject  will  give  a  pupil  the  obvious  power  to 
measure  a  triangle  or  to  construct  a  sentence.  A  tonic 
or  culture  subject  will  endow  the  learner  with  belief, 
opinion,  common-sense,*  and  make  him  a  man  of  good 
judgment.  The  practical  outcome  of  Mr.  Latham's  dis- 
tinction is  to  give  an  undeserved  value  to  such  subjects 
as  arithmetic  and  grammar,  and  to  belittle  the  value  of 
such  subjects  as  geography  and  history.  A  feeling  that 
this  conclusion  is  a  false  one  has  led  me  to  make  some 
distinctions  already  foreshadowed,  but  which  I  shall  now 
attempt  to  render  more  explicit. 

In  educational  science  a  subject  will  have  as  many 
values  as  it  has  distinctive  uses,  and  each  of  these  values 
will  be  measured  by  the  quantity  and  the  quality  of  the 
effect  that  it  produces.  The  broadest  distinction  in  uses 
is  the  one  suggested  in  the  quotation  from  Plato  given 
in  a  preceding  note.  Plato  dwells  chiefly  on  the  reflex 
effect  of  the  study  of  number,  as  it  "  facilitates  the  con- 
version of  the  soul  itself  from  the  changeable  to  the  true 
and  the  real;"  or,  as  he  says  in  another  place,  "as  it 
mightily  draws  the  soul  upwards,  and  compels  it  to  rea- 
son about  abstract  numbers."  In  the  very  same  con- 
nection he  speaks  of  the  objective  effect  of  this  knowl- 
edge— it  may  be  used  for  purposes  of  war,  but  not,  as 
by  merchants  or  shopkeepers,  for  purposes  of  trade. 
Here  are  two  uses  that  are  absolutely  distinct.  The 
study  of  arithmetic  is  chiefly  valuable,  as  Plato  says,  for 
the  wonderful  effect  it  produces  on  the  thinking  instru- 
ment, the  conscious  self;  but  it  has  another  use,  as  itself 

*  I  employ  this  term  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  discussed  by  Dr. 
Carpenter  in  his  "Mental  Physiology  "  (New  York,  1875),  cli.  x. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  41 

an  instrument  whicli  may  be  employed  in  war  or  in 
trade.  This  is  a  distinction  wliich  is  founded  in  the 
very  constitution  of  things,  and  may  be  ilhistrated  as 
follows :  the  mere  swinging  of  an  axe  has  a  reflex  effect 
on  the  muscles  involved  in  the  act;  but,  in  addition  to 
this,  there  may  be  an  objective  effect  absolutely  distinct 
and  different,  as  in  the  cnttino:  or  cleavins:  of  wood.  In 
all  such  cases  there  tnust  be  the  reflex  effect,  and  there 
may  be  the  outward  or  objective  effect.  The  learning 
of  a  subject  involves  the  mind  in  some  mode  or  modes 
of  activity  ;  and  this  exercise  is  one  of  the  essential  con- 
ditions of  development  or  growth.  A  subject  that  calls 
into  exercise  a  large  number  of  activities,  or  that  brings 
a  single  activity  into  vigorous  use,  has  a  high  value  of  a 
certain  kind.  But,  quite  independently  of  this  reflex  ef- 
fect, a  mental  acquisition  may  itself  become  an  instru- 
ment for  effecting  objective  results.  In  the  case  cited 
from  Plato,  arithmetical  knowledge  may  be  used  in  mil- 
itary art  or  in  the  traffic  of  merchants.  By  common 
usage,  the  terms  disciplinary  Rxid  practical  are  employed 
to  designate  the  two  values  that  have  been  illustrated. 
A  subject  is  said  to  be  valuable  either  for  discipline  or 
for  itse.  Some  subjects  are  allowed  to  have  a  high  prac- 
tical value,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  low  disciplinary 
value ;  and  vice  versa.  I  do  not  insist  on  this  distinc- 
tion because  it  is  new,  but  rather  because  it  is  old  and 
true.  I  believe  it  to  be  the  only  valid  general  distinc- 
tion that  has  been  or  can  be  made. 

At  this  point  I  will  return  to  Mr.  Spencer's  discussion 
of  "  the  relative  values  of  knowledges,"  for  the  purpose 
of  making  inquiry  into  the  truth  of  one  of  his  assump- 
tions. One  preliminary  is  stated  as  follows  :  "  Acquire- 
ment of  every  kind  has  two  values — value  as  knowledge 


42  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

and  value  as  discipline.  Besides  its  use  for  guidance  ia 
conduct,  the  acquisition  of  each  order  of  facts  has  also 
its  use  as  mental  exercise ;  and  its  effects  as  a  preparative 
for  complete  living  have  to  be  considered  under  both 
these  heads."*  The  candor  of  this  statement  encourages 
the  reader  to  anticipate  a  luminous  and  equally  candid 
discussion  of  one  of  the  main  elements  of  the  great  prob- 
lem ;  and  but  for  the  seductions  of  Mr.  Spencer's  style  of 
writing  there  could  hardly  fail  to  be  some  degree  of  sur- 
prise and  disappointment  at  the  treatment  the  question 
finally  receives :  "  This  division  of  our  subject,"  he  says, 
"  we  are  obliged  to  treat  with  comparative  brevity ; 
and,  happily,  no  very  lengthy  treatment  of  it  is  needed. 
Having  found  what  is  best  for  the  one  end,  we  have,  by 
implication,  found  what  is  best  for  the  other.  We  may 
be  quite  sure  that  the  acquirement  of  those  classes  of 
facts  which  arc  most  useful  for  regulating  conduct  in- 
volves  a  mental  exercise  best  fitted  for  strengthening 
the  faculties.  It  would  be  utterly  contrary  to  the  beau- 
tiful economy  of  Nature,  if  one  kind  of  culture  were  need- 
ed for  the  gaining  of  information,  and  another  kind  were 
needed  as  a  mental  gymnastic."  f  Then,  by  way  of  illus- 
tration, we  are  told  of  the  Ked  Indian  who  acquires  swift- 
ness and  agility  "  by  the  actual  pursuit  of  animals  ;"  of 
the  Bushman  whose  eye  acquires  "  a  quite  telescopic 
range  "  by  "being  habitually  employed  in  identifying  dis- 
tant objects;"  and, finally,  of  the  accountant,"  whose  daily 
practice  enables  him  to  add  up  several  columns  of  figures 
simultaneously." 

Let  us  now  devote  our  serious  attention  to  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's argument,  to  his  illustrations,  and  to  his  general 

♦"Education,"  p.  37.  t  Ibid.,  p.  84. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  43 

conclusion.  What  we  liave  called,  by  courtesy,  the  argu- 
ment rnns  as  follows  :  "  The  education  of  most  value  for 
guidance  must  at  the  same  time  be  the  education  of 
most  value  for  discipline ;"  for  to  suppose  otherwise 
"  would  be  utterly  contrary  to  the  beautiful  economy  of 
Nature."  The  whole  school  of  educational  writers  of 
which  Mr.  Spencer  is  the  representative  are  accustomed 
to  resort  to  tlie  myth  "  Nature,"  whenever  their  favor- 
ite theses  cannot  be  supported  by  legitimate  argument. 
The  existing  order  of  things  is  personified  under  the 
term  "  Nature,"  and  then  this  "  Nature  "  is  assumed  to 
be  a  sort  of  goddess  who  administers  all  the  affairs  of 
terrestrial  existence  with  incomparable  accuracy  and  wis- 
dom ;  and  then  the  validity  of  any  assumption  is  estab- 
lished by  showing  that  it  conforms  to  a  so-called  "  Order 
of  Nature."  In  the  case  under  consideration  the  author- 
ity of  "Nature"  is  quoted  as  a  sufficient  ground  for  a 
very  large  assumption — "  the  beautiful  economy  of  Nat- 
tire  "  constrains  us  to  believe  that  studies  that  are  most 
valuable  for  use  are  also  the  most  valuable  for  disci- 
pline. 

Naville,  in  his  "  Logique  de  I'llypothese,"  finely  ridi- 
cules the  easy  resort  to  authority  as  follows  :  "  Aristotle 
teaches  that  the  sun  is  incorruptible.  At  the  time  when 
the  discovery  of  spots  on  the  sun  began  to  circulate,  a 
student  called  the  attention  of  his  old  professor  to  the 
matter,  and  received  the  following  reply :  '  My  friend,! 
have  read  Aristotle  twice  from  beginning  to  end,  and  I 
know  there  can  be  no  spots  on  the  sun.  Wipe  your  lenses 
better.  If  the  spots  are  not  in  3'our  telescope,  they  must 
be  in  your  eyes!'"  Is  it  any  more  absurd  to  quote  the 
dictum  of  Aristotle  in  questions  of  physical  science  than 
an  assumed  "  Order  of  Nature  "  in  questions  of  educa- 


44  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tional  science  ?  It  may  fairly  be  counted  a  standing  won- 
der that  a  philosopher  of  this  day  still  adheres  to  a  mode 
of  philosophizing  that  has  long  since  been  abandoned  by 
all  reputable  scientists.  It  is  only  in  educational  science 
that  the  mediaeval  logic  is  still  in  full  force. 

"  The  beautiful  economy  of  Nature  1"  that  were  finely 
said  by  a  satirist.  To  succeed  in  raising  one  plant  from 
the  sowing  of  a  thousand  seeds ;  to  choke  the  growth  of 
a  wholesome  plant  by  a  wilderness  of  noxious  weeds;  to 
abandon  a  crop  of  promising  fruit  to  a  horde  of  ravenous 
bugs ;  to  carry  off  a  score  of  robust  children  by  infection 
from  insidious  disease-germs — such  is"  the  beautiful  econ- 
omy of  Nature !"  "^ 

Now  a  few  words  as  to  the  Red  Indian,  the  Bushman, 
and  the  accountant.  AVhatever  proof  there  is  in  these 
illustrations  is  evidently  of  this  sort :  for  his  guidance, 
the  Indian  needs  agility  and  swiftness,  and  these  endow- 
ments are  best  secured  by  the  actual  pursuit  of  animals; 
what  the  Bushman  needs  for  his  guidance  is  telescopic 
vision,  and  this  is  best  acquired  by  obeying  the  needs  of 
his  daily  life;  the  accountant  needs  the  ability  of  rapid 
computation,  and  the  stress  of  his  daily  life  forces  this 
ability  upon  him.     When  generalized,  the  thought  takes 

•  ''Nature  is  so  rich, and  produces  beings  in  such  profusion,  that 
she  is  condemned  to  destroy  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  of 
them.  There  would  not  bo  standing-room,  air,  or  food  for  a  mill- 
ionth part  of  the  creatures  she  produces,  if  she  were  not  limited  by 
necessity.  Thus,  a  herring  produces  such  a  quantity  of  eggs  tliat, 
if  all  came  to  maturity,  within  a  few  generations  all  other  species 
of  fish  would  be  in  danger  from  them.  .  .  .  But  only  one  egg  in 
several  thousand  comes  to  maturity;  yet  this  is  is  enough  to  multi- 
ply the  species  in  abundance.  The  other  eggs  are  destroyed  in 
countless  numbers." — Marion,  op.  cit,  p.  81. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  45 

tliis  form:  the  stress  of  one's  environment  begets  the 
very  power  that  is  needed  to  support  the  conditions  of 
that  environment.  This  takes  us  to  the  central  thought 
of  the  new  philosophy.  Cosmic  forces,  acting  blindly, 
but  with  the  certainty  and  persistence  of  fate,  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time  evolved  the  solar  system,  one  member  of 
which  is  the  earth.  In  the  further  progress  of  time,  tiie 
blind  play  of  phj'sical  forces  evolved  the  various  forms 
of  animal  and  vegetable  life.  One  of  the  products  of 
this  process  is  the  fish.  This  creature  has  its  predeter- 
mined environment  or  habitat.  This  habitat  not  only 
conditions  the  life  of  the  fish,  but  entails  a  continuous 
struggle  for  existence;  and  this  struggle,  in  turn,  begets 
the  power  to  continue  existence.  In  other  words,  this 
creature  is  exactly  adapted  to  its  environment,  and  its  en- 
vironment, in  turn,  is  as  exactly  adapted  to  it.  For  the 
fish  to  transcend  its  environment  would  be  to  die,  or  to 
become  something  other  than  a  fish.  Man,  too,  is  the 
product  of  his  environment,  and  his  struggle  to  maintain 
existence  begets  the  power  needed  to  react  against  the 
forces  that  would  destroy  life.  Man  lives  to  eat,  and 
eats  to  live.  His  needs  are  co-ordinate  with  his  immedi- 
ate resources. 

Mr.  Spencer's  theory  of  education  values  is  in  perfect 
accord  with  his  philosophy.  The  Red  Indian,  for  exam- 
ple, was  evolved  out  of  certain  fixed  conditions,  and,  if 
he  is  to  remain  a  Red  Indian  (as  by  the  new  philosophy 
he  ought),  he  must  in  no  respect  transcend  his  environ- 
ment. He  must  support  existence  in  the  spot  where 
fate  planted  him,  and  just  the  guidance  he  needs  for 
this  purpose  is  best  gained  in  his  predetermined  struggle 
for  existence.  Any  greater  power  would  be  useless,  and 
any  new  endowment  would  unfit  bim  for  the  place  to 


46  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

which  "Nature"  had  assigned  him.  All  the  walks  of 
life  furnish  illustrations  of  Mr.  Spencer's  meaning.  Each 
man  is  predetermined  to  follow  some  craft ;  and  the  en- 
dowment he  needs  for  this  purpose  is  best  acquired  by 
devoting  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  craft.  For  exam- 
ple, the  comfort  of  the  tailor  requires  him  to  be  bow- 
legged,  and  the  practice  of  his  art  tends  to  make  him 
bow-legged.  Under  this  conception,  it  must  be  granted 
that  "  the  education  of  most  value  for  guidance  must,  at 
the  same  time,  be  the  education  of  most  value  for  disci- 
pline." 

But  there  is  a  different  conception  of  human  destiny, 
and  this  involves  a  different  theory  of  education  values. 
The  principal  elements  in  this  other  conception  are  as 
follows  :  (1)  Man  is  not  the  passive  victim  of  his  environ- 
ment, but  has  such  power  of  modification  and  control  as 
either  to  transcend  that  environment  or  virtually  to  re- 
create it.  (2)  Man  is  a  member  of  the  human  race,  rath- 
er than  of  a  caste,  and  he  is  predetermined  to  an  upward 
growth  towards  the  highest  type  of  his  kind.  (3)  Edu- 
cation is  not  fate,  but  is  a  process  of  growth,  modified, 
controlled,  and  perfected  by  human  art.  (4)  The  main 
purpose  of  education  is  to  permit  the  individual  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  conscious  life  of  the  race. 

On  these  grounds  we  object  to  Mr.  Spencer's  treatment 
of  the  Red  Indian,  the  Bushman,  and  the  accountant. 
The  first  need  of  the  Indian  and  the  Bushman  in  partic- 
ular, is  to  become  men  ;  and  for  this  purpose  there  should 
be  considerably  less  activity  in  the  lines  of  swiftness, 
agility,  and  telescopic  vision ;  and  considerably  more  in 
the  lines  of  ploughing,  building,  and  thinking.  Abilities 
not  given  by  "  ITature  "  should  be  created  by  human  art. 
This  "  Nature"  should  not  dominate  over  man,  but  should 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  47 

be  subjugated  bj  man.  Even  the  accountant  deserves 
better  treatment  than  Mr.  Spencer  prescribes  for  him. 
He  should  aspire  to  something  better  than  "  to  add  up 
several  columns  of  figures  simultaneouslj."  He  is  a  man 
by  better  right  than  he  is  a  machine,  and,  as  such,  he 
may  even  learn  to  philosophize ;  but,  for  this  purpose,  he 
has  need  of  a  discipline  quite  different  from  that  which 
will  merely  furnish  him  with  the  guidance  required  by 
an  accountant.  When  we  consider  the  requirements  of 
a  liberal  education,  or  that  course  of  training  which  will 
raise  a  human  being  from  the  bondage  of  "Kature"  up 
towards  the  typical  man,  it  is  not  true  that  the  practical 
value  of  a  study  is  identical  with  its  disciplinary  value. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  much  nearer  the  truth  to  assert 
that  these  two  values  are  in  an  inverse  ratio  to  each 
other,  or  that  a  subject  that  is  most  valuable  for  main- 
taining the  struggle  for  existence  is  least  valuable  for 
purposes  of  human  culture.  It  is  well  known  that  in 
business  houses,  interest,  discount,  etc.,  are  computed 
from  printed  tables,  with  no  reference  whatever  to  arith- 
metical rules,  and  still  less  to  mathematical  principles. 
The  daily  life  of  such  an  accountant  requires  him  to  be 
expert  in  the  use  of  an  interest  table,  and  Mr.  Spencer 
Avould  say  that  the  hourly  use  of  such  a  table  will  give 
this  operative  the  very  discipline  he  needs.  Now,  if  we 
allow  that  one  purpose  of  school-life  is  to  perfect  the 
mind  as  the  instrument  of  thinking,  what  kind  of  teach- 
ing will  be  best  for  this  end — a  training  in  the  mere  use 
of  an  interest  table,  instruction  in  the  application  of 
rules,  or  instruction  in  mathematical  principles?  Is  it 
not  evident  that  if  we  regard  the  pupil  as  a  human  be- 
ing, and  not  merely  as  an  operative,  the  training  that  is 
incomparably  the  best  will  come  from  the  study  of  prin- 


48  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION, 

ciples,  and  that  only  a  discipline  of  the  lowest  order  will 
result  from  instruction  in  the  use  of  the  table?  And  is 
it  not  quite  as  evident  that  the  knowledge  of  most  im- 
mediate practical  value  to  this  accountant  is  of  the  very 
least  disciplinary  value  to  him  as  a  man  ?  I  say  again, 
that  if  we  put  the  Ked  Indian,  the  Bushman,  and  the  ac- 
countant in  the  same  category,  and  conceive  that  each  is 
doomed  by  "JS^ature"  to  his  respective  habitat,  we  must 
grant  the  identity  of  the  practical  and  the  disciplinary 
values  of  subjects ;  but  if  we  conceive  that  our  pupils 
should  become  men  before  they  are  converted  into  oper- 
atives, and  that  while  they  are  operatives  they  still  re- 
main men,  we  must  hold  that  the  value  of  knowledge 
for  mere  guidance  is  one  thing,  and  the  value  of  knowl- 
edge for  mental  discipline  is  quite  another  thing.  In- 
deed, it  cannot  have  escaped  the  notice  of  any  observing 
teacher  that  the  acquirement  of  the  knowledge  most 
needed  to  sustain  the  struggle  for  existence  is  almost 
valueless  for  purposes  of  mental  discipline.  In  support 
of  this  view  I  quote  from  writers  whose  opinions  are  en- 
titled to  great  weight : 

"The  reasoning  that  I  oppose,"  says  Renan,  "starts 
from  a  low  and  false  assumption — that  instruction  serves 
only  for  the  practical  use  that  is  made  of  it ;  for  exam- 
ple, that  he  who,  by  his  social  position,  does  not  make 
use  of  his  intellectual  culture  has  no  need  of  that  cult- 
ure. Literature,  from  this  point  of  view,  is  useful  only 
to  the  man  of  letters ;  science  only  to  the  savant ;  good 
manners  and  fine  bearing  only  to  men  of  the  world. 
The  poor  man  should  be  ignorant,  for  education  and 
knowledge  are  useless  to  him.  Blasphemy,  gentle- 
men! The  culture  of  the  mind  and  the  culture  of 
the   soul    are   duties  for   every    man.      They   are   not 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  49 

simply  ornaments,  they  arc  things  as  sacred  as  relig- 
ion." * 

"  If  we  wish  to  cultivate  the  mind  to  the  extent  of  its 
capacity,"  says  Dngald  Stewart,  "  we  must  not  rest  satis- 
fied with  the  employment  which  its  faculties  receive  from 
our  particular  situation  in  life.  It  is  not  in  the  awk- 
ward and  professional  form  of  the  mechanic,  who  has 
strengthened  particular  muscles  of  his  body  by  the  hab- 
its of  his  trade,  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  perfection  of 
our  animal  nature ;  neither  is  it  among  men  of  confined 
pursuits,  whether  speculative  or  active,  that  we  are  to  ex- 
pect to  find  the  human  mind  in  its  highest  state  of  cul- 
tivation. A  variety  of  exercises  is  necessary  to  preserve 
the  animal  frame  in  vigor  and  beauty ;  and  a  variety  of 
those  occupations  which  literature  and  science  afford, 
added  to  a  promiscuous  intercourse  with  the  world,  in 
the  habits  of  conversation  and  business,  is  no  less  neces- 
sary for  the  improvement  of  the  understanding."  f 

"All  the  usages  of  the  language,"  says  Alexander 
Bain,  "  including  the  highest  rules  of  correctness  and 
propriety,  may  be  imparted  merely  as  guidance  in  speak- 
ing and  writing  with  exactness ;  there  being  no  attempt 
to  cast  them  into  methodical  shape  or  to  reduce  them 
under  rational  explanations.  This  would  be  pure  infor- 
mation ;  the  teaching  of  language,  so  conducted,  would 
be  very  useful,  but  would  not  be  called  a  mental  disci- 
pline. Those  persons  that  all  their  life  have  been  associ- 
ated with  only  such  as  speak  correctly  and  elegantly,  be- 
come correct  and  good  speakers  without  any  training  at 
all.    A  foreign  language  might  be  imparted  in  the  same 

*,"La  Famine  et  I'fitat  dans  I'fiducation "  (Paris,  18G9),  p.  3. 
t  "  The  Philosophy  of  the  Human  Mind  "  (London,  1856),  p.  13. 

3 


50  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

way ;  even  dead  languages  could  be  taught  without 
grammar  rules;  that  is  to  say,  by  mere  habituation  in 
reading  books."* 

So  far  as  I  am  able  to  discern  the  truth,  the  main  facta 
in  the  case  under  discussion  may  be  summarized  as  fol- 
lows : 

1.  Educational  science  must  have  first  and  chief  refer- 
ence to  the  pupil  as  a  member  of  the  human  race,  and 
living  under  the  law  of  ascent  towards  the  type  of  his 
kind ;  and  a  subordinate  reference  to  the  pupil  as  an  in- 
dividual destined  to  move  in  a  fixed  habitat. 

2.  The  type  of  education  should  be  humane  or  liberal, 
rather  than  professional  or  technical. 

3.  The  type  of  instruction  should  be  disciplinary,  rath- 
er than  practical. 

4.  In  the  acquirement  of  disciplinary  knowledge,  the 
mind  must  work  under  high  tension ;  a  much  lower 
tension  suffices  for  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge. 
Even  in  this  domain,  action  and  reaction  are  equal. 

5.  Mr.  Spencei-'s  assumption  that  the  knowledge  that  is 
best  for  guidance  is  also  best  for  discipline  is  false.  On 
the  contrary,  the  immediate  practical  value  of  a  subject 
and  its  disciplinary  value  are  usually  in  an  inverse  ratio 
to  each  other. 

Thus  far  my  purpose  has  been  to  show  that  the  broad- 
est and  most  characteristic  distinction  in  education  values 
is  that  which  is  expressed  by  the  terms  Practical  and  Dis- 
ciplinary; and  that  these  values  are  not  only  not  the 
same,  but  that  they  are  usually  in  the  inverse  ratio  to 
each  other.  I  shall  now  attempt  to  show  that  the  prac- 
tical value  of  a  subject  is  either  direct  (immediate)  or  in- 
direct (mediate).  . .  . 

•  «  Education  as  a  Science  "  (New  York,  1879),  p.  136.-      - 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  51 

If  a  miller  were  asked  why  he  reuts  a  seat  in  a  rail- 
way train  instead  of  owning  the  railway  and  the  train, 
his  reply  would  doubtless  be  that  it  is  cheaper  to  rent 
than  to  own.  This  is  the  proximate  but  not  ultimate 
explanation  of  this  and  analogous  facts.  If  he  were 
asked  why  he  buys  a  suit  of  ready-made  clothing,  instead 
of  raising  the  sheep,  carding  and  spinning  the  wool, 
weaving  the  fabric  and  making  the  garments  with  his 
own  hands,  he  would  doubtless  say  that  he  has  neither 
the  time  nor  the  skill  requisite  for  this  series  of  proc- 
esses ;  that  human  power  is  so  limited  and  human  needs 
so  various  that  he  must  buy  what  he  cannot  produce. 
If  this  miller  were  versed  in  political  economy,  he  would 
say  that  the  ultimate  fact  in  the  case  is  the  law  of  division 
of  labor.  It  is  by  reason  of  this  law  that,  in  the  supply  of 
most  of  our  wants,  it  is  cheaper  and  more  convenient  for 
us  to  rent  or  buy  than  to  own  or  make.  I  now  wish  to 
make  plain  the  fact  that,  in  the  matter  of  useful  knowl- 
edge, the  law  of  the  division  of  labor  operates  in  precise- 
ly the  same  way,  or  that  there  is  some  knowledge  of  daily 
use  for  guidance  that  we  must  have  as  a  personal  posses- 
sion ;  but  that  there  is  other  knowledge  that  we  need 
only  on  occasions,  and  that  we  cannot  afford  to  acquire, 
but  which  we  can  hire.  In  case  of  illness,  the  lawyer 
employs  a  physician ;  and,  in  case  of  an  invasion  of  his 
rights,  the  physician  employs  the  lawyer.  Why  has  not 
each  acquired,  as  a  personal  possession,  that  peculiar  (pro- 
fessional) knowledge  possessed  by  the  other  ?  Evidently 
because  it  is  cheaper  and  safer  to  hire  this  knowledge 
than  to  own  it ;  and  this  cheapness  and  safety  are  due  to 
the  division  of  labor.  The  educational  principle  that  is 
involved  in  these  illustrations  may  be  stated  as  follows : 
Each  human  being  needs  for  his  daily  guidance  as  a 


53  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

toiler,  a  citizen,  and  a  man,  certain  kinds  of  knowledge, 
and  tliis'knowledge  he  should  acquire  as  a  personal  pos- 
session; but  there  is  other  knowledge  which  he  needs 
for  use  or  guidance  only  on  occasion ;  this  knowledge 
he  need  not  own,  provided  he  can  more  conveniently 
hire  it. 

This  principle  may  now  be  more  articulately  illus- 
trated as  follows:  For  his  daily  guidance,  the  miller 
must  know  definite  things  relating  to  his  trade;  he  must 
also  know  his  rights  and  duties  as  a  citizen;  and  as  a 
man,  or  member  of  the  race,  he  must  know  something  of 
history,  geography,  literature,  and  science,  and  so  must 
know  how  to  read.  All  this  knowledge  he  must  possess, 
and  the  practical  value  of  this  knowledge  to  the  miller 
is  of  the  direct  order.  On  occasions,  however,  as  in  ill- 
ness, in  trouble,  in  preparing  for  a  journey,  or  in  emer- 
gency of  any  sort,  he  needs  other  knowledge  that  he  can 
avail  himself  of  indirectly,  or  that  he  can  readily  find 
in  books.  This  is  practical  knowledge  of  the  indirect 
order. 

To  show  the  bearings  of  this  distinction  on  education- 
al science,  I  will  return  for  a  moment  to  Mr.  Spencer's 
discussion  of  "  the  relative  values  of  knowledges."  His 
method  of  procedure  is  "  to  classify,  in  the  order  of  their 
importance,  the  leading  kinds  of  activity  which  constitute 
human  life,"  and  then  to  determine,  in  each  case,  the 
kind  of  knowledge  that  is  needed  to  support  these  five 
classes  of  activities.  It  would  be  easy  to  criticise  this 
classification  as  to  its  sequence  ;  and  the  classification  it- 
self, though  elaborated  with  such  philosophic  pretence, 
seems  to  have  but  very  little  bearing  on  the  foregone 
conclusion.  But  we  will  accept,  provisionally,  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's triumphant  answer  {Science)  to  his  main  question, 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  58 

"What  knowledge  is  of  most  worth?"  and  endeavor  to 
show  in  what  way  his  theory  would  affect  educational 
practice.  Admitting  tlie  inestimable  valne  of  physio- 
logical knowledge  to  the  human  race,  does  it  follow 
that  every  one  should  make  a  study  of  this  science  as  a 
means  of  guidance  ?  The  answer  is  to  be  found  in  the 
fact  that  only  the  simplest  rudiments  of  this  subject, 
scarcely  more  than  its  empirical  precepts,  come  within 
the  range  of  the  average  pupil's  opportunities ;  but  that 
the  real  science  has  been  monopolized  for  professional 
use  by  physicians.  The  fact  in  the  case  is  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  parts  directly  connected  with  hygiene, 
physiological  knowledge  is  as  little  available  for  individ- 
ual guidance  as  astronomical  knowledge.  Under  normal 
and  usual  conditions,  the  human  body  is  a  machine  that 
will  perform  its  functions  without  the  need  of  assistance ; 
and  under  abnormal  conditions,  nothing  but  the  highest 
knowledge  and  skill  can  be  trusted  in  the  way  of  inter- 
vention. Daily  experience  shows  that  in  this  domain 
nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  half  knowledge,  or  "a 
little  knowledge."  Every  man,  for  his  own  daily  guid- 
ance, should  know  the  plain  conditions  of  healthy  living, 
with  respect  to  food,  air,  exercise,  etc.,  and  this  easy 
knowledge  should  be  communicated  to  all;  but  when  a 
man  is  sick,  or  bruised,  or  wounded,  he  should  employ 
a  physician — he  should  hire  the  knowledge  and  skill  that 
his  own  preoccupations  and  predilections  have  forbidden 
him  to  acquire.  In  the  first  case,  physiology  has  a  prac- 
tical value  of  the  direct  order;  in  the  second  case,  it  is 
of  indirect  or  mediate  practical  value.  The  case  just  pre- 
sented is  a  typical  one.  For  example,  all  men  have  need 
of  hats  ;  shall  all  men,  therefore,  learn  the  hatter's  trade? 
By  no  means.     It  suffices  that  each  man  knows  enough 


04  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

of  liats  to  judge  of  their  quality  when  he  buys,  and  to 
take  proper  care  of  tlie  one  lie  chances  to  own.  Any 
knowledge  beyond  this  must  be  relegated  to  the  craft  of 
hatters. 

While  on  this  special  subject,  I  am  tempted  to  indulge 
in  a  quotation  to  show  how  an  austere  philosopher  may 
mistake  a  pretty  bit  of  sentiment  for  argument :  "  When 
a  mother,"  says  Mr.  Spencer,  "  is  mourning  over  a  first- 
born that  has  sunk  under  the  sequelae  of  scarlet-fever — 
when,  perhaps,  a  candid  medical  man  has  confirmed  her 
suspicions  that  her  child  would  have  recovered  had  not 
its  system  been  enfeebled  by  over-study — when  she  is 
prostrate  under  the  pangs  of  combined  grief  and  re- 
morse, it  is  but  a  small  consolation  that  she  can  read 
Dante  in  the  original."  * 

Small  indeed !  But  could  aiiy  accomplishment  afford 
consolation  in  such  a  case  ?  Must  a  young  lady  forbear 
to  learn  Italian,  but  devote  herself  instead  to  the  study 
of  medicinCj  because  of  the  possibility  that  she  may  one 
day  suffer  the  loss  of  a  child  ?  Must  all  mothers  be  phy- 
sicians? 

Mr.  Spencer  next  discusses  in  succession  the  claims 
of  mathematics,  physics,  chemistry,  biology,  sociology, 
and  psychology,  as  they  severally  bear  on  the  mainte- 
nance of  his  five  categories  of  activities ;  and  the  only 
inference  that  can  be  legitimately  drawn  from  his  line  of 
argument  is  that  these  sciences  should  form  constitu- 
ent parts  of  the  education  -of  each  human  being,  on  the 

*  "  The  perfection  of  philosophic  style  is  to  approach  as  nearly  as 
possible  to  that  species  of  language  we  employ  in  algebra,  and  to 
exclude  every  expression  which  has  a  tendency  to  divert  the  at- 
tention by  exciting  the  imagination,  or  to  bias  the  judgment  by 
casual  associations." — Dugald  Stewart,  op.  cit.,  p.  265. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  55 

ground  of  tlieir  direct  practical  value  to  the  individual; 
or,  as  he  prefers  to  say,  on  tlie  ground  of  their  value  for 
guidance.*  It  must  be  allowed  that  Mr.  Spencer  makes 
very  plain  what  no  one  has  ever  disputed — that  the  sci- 
ences he  names  are  of  inestimable  importance  to  the  hu- 
man race ;  but  when  he  infers  from  this  evident  fact  that 
each  individual  of  the  race,  for  the  sake  of  his  own  guid- 
ance, must  have  all  this  knowledge  as  a  personal  posses- 
sion, he  fails  to  note  the  manner  in  which  the  law  of  the 
division  of  labor  affects  the  distribution  of  knowledge. 
The  largest  inference  that  can  possibly  be  drawn  by  le- 
gitimate means  is  that  Science  should  he  taught.  Witli 
reference  to  the  individual,  the  outcome  of  the  whole 
matter  is  this :  For  purposes  of  guidance,  he  need  learn 
only  those  sciences,  or  those  parts  of  each  science,  which 
furnish  practical  knowledge  of  the  direct  order ;  while, 
for  knowledge  that  he  needs  on  occasion,  or  in  emergen- 
cies, he  must  depend  on  specialists.  In  other  words,  w^e 
must  do  in  respect  of  knowledge  just  what  we  do  in  re- 
spect of  other  things :  some  things  we  must  acquire  and 
own  ;  some  other  things  we  had  better  buy  or  hire,  and 
of  these  latter  things  our  knowledge  may  be  general, 
learned  at  second  hand  as  literature. 

In  interpreting  the  matter  contained  in  this  section,  it 
must  be  kept  constantly  in  mind  that  I  am  discussing  the 
claims  of  subjects  on  the  ground  of  their  practical  value, 
or  their  value  for  guidance.  It  does  not  follow  that  a 
subject  useless  for  individual  guidance  should  not  be 

*  "  The  general  conclusion,  then,  from  our  review  of  Mr.  Spen- 
cer's theory  is,  that  its  due  satisfaction  involves  the  assumption 
that  every  man  is  to  be  his  own  doctor,  lawyer,  architect,  bailiff, 
tailor,  and,  I  suppose,  clergyman." — Joseph.  Payne,  "  Lectures  on 
the  Science  and  Art  of  Education"  (London,  1880),  p.  249. 


50  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

studied  hj  him.     The  pursuit  of  such  a  study  can  be  de- 
fended on  still  higher  and  better  grounds. 

Up  to  this  point  the  results  of  my  inquiry  may  be  tab- 
ulated as  follows : 

!1.  Direct  (Immediate), 
2.  Indirect  (Mediate), 
values.    (  2.  Disciplinary. 

Something  is  gained  when  we  have  sharply  distin- 
guished the  practical  value  of  a  subject  from  its  disci- 
plinary value.  If  the  foregoing  analysis  is  correct,  a 
given  study  may  have  a  high  value  for  guidance,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  a  low  value  as  a  mental  gymnastic;  and 
vice  versa.  The  whole  subject  would  be  simplified  by 
the  identification  of  these  two  values,  and,  as  the  philo- 
sophic mind  is  ever  aspiring  after  unity,  it  is  not  singu- 
lar that  the  synthetic  instinct  of  Mr.  Spencer,  nninstruct- 
ed  by  practical  dealings  with  education  values,  should 
lead  him  to  unite  two  things  that,  in  fact,  are  widely  dif- 
ferent ;  but  one  of  the  requisites  of  applied  science  is 
the  making  of  exact  discriminations,  to  tlie  end  that  pro- 
vision may  be  made  for  the  specific  cases  with  which  art 
always  has  to  deal.  There  is  great  gain  to  practical 
teaching  by  sharply  marking  the  distinction  just  referred 
to  ;  but  a  still  higher  degree  of  prevision  is  made  possi- 
ble by  distinguishing  direct  practical  values  from  indi- 
rect practical  values.  If  the  distinction  is  well  founded, 
it  exposes  the  specious  fallacies  of  Mr.  Spencer's  first 
chapter,  and  makes  possible  the  construction  of  a  curric- 
ulum on  a  more  rational  basis  than  the  one  proposed 
in  "Education."  I  shall  now  attempt  to  give  a  further 
extension  to  the  previsions  of  educational  science  by 
marking  a  distinction  in  the  second  order  of  education 
values,  the  disciplinary/. 


EDUCATION   VALUES.  67 

In  medical  science  there  are  agents  known  as  sjpecifics, 
from  the  circumstance  that  they  affect  a  particular  organ 
or  effect  a  particular  result ;  and  there  are  other  agents 
known  as  tonics,  from  the  circumstance  that  tliey  lend  a 
general  invigoration  to  the  physical  system.  Specifics 
appear  to  act  in  the  way  of  concentration,  and  tonics  in 
the  way  of  diffusion.  Under  the  conception  that  the 
mind  grows  by  exercise  and  by  the  assimilation  of  ali- 
ment, and  that,  to  use  Bacon's  phrase,  "  every  defect  of 
the  mind  may  have  special  receit,"  it  seems  probable,  on 
a  priori  grounds,  that  disciplinary  subjects  may  affect 
the  mind  either  as  specifics  or  as  tonics ;  and  all  the  ob- 
served facts  in  school-life  seem  to  confirm  the  truth  of 
this  hypothesis.  For  example,  it  is  a  matter  of  common 
observation  that  the  effect  of  mathematical  study  seems 
to  be  concentrated  in  that  mode  of  mental  activity 
known  as  deductive  reasoning.  The  effect  of  this  study 
is  certainly  limited,  or,  as  we  might  say,  local ;  for,  as 
Mr.  Bain  observes,  mathematics  "  does  not  teach  us  how 
to  observe,  how  to  generalize,  how  to  classify  ;"*  and 
it  is  equally  apparent  that  it  leaves  unaffected  the  whole 
domain  of  feeling  as  distinguished  from  thinking.  In- 
deed, mathematics  would  not  be  the  incomparable  instru- 
ment it  is  for  the  training  of  the  deductive  reason  if  it 
brought  into  play  the  emotional  activities.  The  disci- 
plinary value  of  local  geography  is  of  the  specific  type, 
for  the  study  chiefly  involves  the  effort  of  memory.  The 
tendency  of  botanical  study  is  to  teach  the  art  of  classi- 
fying, and  so  it  calls  into  play  the  power  of  observing 
and  discriminating.  The  experimental  study  of  physi- 
ology furnishes  a  training  in  inductive  reasoning,  and  in 
this  sense  is  a  specific. 

*  "Education  as  a  Science,"  p.  153. 
3* 


68  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Quite  broadly  distinguislied  from  studies  of  the  spe- 
cific type  are  studies  like  history,  geography,  and  litera- 
ture, that  affect  the  mind  as  a  whole,  involving  both 
thinking  and  feeling,  calling  into  play  several  distinct 
modes  of  intellectual  activity,  and  so  producing  what  is 
known  as  culture.  The  disciplinary  effect  of  studies  of 
this  type  I  would  call  tonic.  The  distinction  now  point- 
ed out,  unlike  the  one  previously  noted,  is  on6  in  degree 
or  sphere,  rather  than  in  kind ;  though  in  extreme  cases, 
like  those  of  arithmetic  on  the  one  hand  and  history  on 
the  other,  I  think  the  element  of  feeling  rises  to  such  a 
height  in  the  second  instance  that  it  produces  a  different 
Tcind  of  effect.  Still,  a  rigid  analyst  might  insist  that 
some  emotion  is  involved  even  in  a  discipline  of  the  spe- 
cific type.  As  my  treatment  of  this  subject  is  at  best  but 
tentative,  there  are  several  points  on  which  I  shall  not 
speak  very  positively.  Even  the  terms  I  have  used  to 
mark  the  distinction  may  not  be  the  best.  The  terms 
intensive  and  extensive  may  best  describe  the  two  effects ; 
and  in  marking  the  highest  form  of  the  tonic  or  exten- 
sive effect,  I  have  often  felt  impelled  to  call  the  value  of 
a  subject  that  produces  it  its  culture  value  ;  for,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  the  main  elements  in  culture  are  catholicity  or 
comprehensiveness  of  mind,  and  emotion,  tempered,  re- 
fined, and  subservient  to  the  intellect  and  the  will.*  It 
would  seem  that  a  study,  to  have  a  high  culture  value, 
must  embody  the  following  characteristics:  it  must  be 
concerned  with  a  unit  that  is  vast  and  imposing,  capable 
of  inspiring  the  feeling  of  grandeur  or  sublimity ;  and, 
involving  the  main  activities  of  the  whole  mind,  must 
appeal  strongly  to  the  nobler  instincts  of  humanity;  and 
must  impress  the  mind  with  the  sense  of  a  comprehen- 
*  For  Plato's  conception  of  culture,  see  p.  288. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  69 

sive,  organic  unity.  All  these  marks  are  found  in  geog- 
raph}',  literature,  and  history,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 
following  statements:  The  unit  of  geographical  study 
is  the  earth,  regarded  as  the  dwelling-place  of  man  ;  the 
unit  of  literature  is  the  aggregate  of  the  best  things 
thought  by  the  human  race;  the  unit  of  historical  study 
is  the  aggregate  of  the  most  notable  things  done  by  the 
human  race.  In  each  case,  the  unit  is  imposing;  em- 
bodies a  very  large  human  element;  and, in  the  end, re- 
mains a  comprehensive,  concrete  aggregate.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  conception  of  the  final  comprehensive 
aggregate  is  attained,  first,  by  a  process  of  discrimination, 
and  then  by  a  recombination  of  the  proximate  parts. 
We  first  apprehend  and  then  comprehend.  Study  that 
ends  in  mere  disintegration  has  no  real  culture  value; 
for  the  conception  of  wholeness  is  essential  to  this  end. 
If  the  Greeks  had  been  a  race  of  anatomists,  the  praises 
of  Greek  art  had  never  been  sung.  In  a  minor  degree, 
physiology  may  be  a  culture  subject,  provided  the  stu- 
dent does  not  proceed  to  dissection.  Here  is  a  typical 
illustration  of  two  education  values  absolutely  different 
in  kind.  For  practical  ends,  the  student  should  dissect ; 
for  purposes  of  culture^  he  should  not.  Here  are  also 
indicated  two  different  methods  of  study.  For  practical 
ends,  a  subject  like  physiology  should  be  studied  experi- 
mentally; for  the  purpose  of  culture,  it  should  the  rath- 
er be  studied  as  literature.  In  one  respect,  astronomy  is  a 
culture  QuhlQct  j)ar  excellence — the  unit  of  study  has  such 
vastness  and  complexity.  In  another  respect,  the  human 
element,  it  is  inferior  to  geography.  Geology,  as  an  in- 
dependent study,  has  still  less  culture  value  than  geog- 
raphy— it  has  no  independent  unit  that  is  imposing; 
though,  when  superadded  to  geography,  it  raises  the 


CO  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

culture  value  of  the  latter.  Chemistry  has  scarcely  any 
culture  value  as  it  has  been  defined ;  it  has  neither  of 
the  three  marks  required.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
physics,  botany,  mineralogy,  and  zoology.  If  there  be  an 
exception,  it  is  in  the  case  of  botany  and  zoology,  in 
which  there  is  the  phenomenon  of  life.* 

In  what  has  preceded  I  have  not  attempted  to  form  a 
descriptive  table  of  education  values,  but  merely  to  illus- 
trate some  distinctions  that  I  think  are  involved  in  the 
construction  of  such  a  table.     From  the  point  of  view 

♦  "  There  is  still  another  art  with  -which  the  universities  stand  in 
close  relation,  and  which  is  the  highest  of  all  arts — the  art,  not  of 
gaining  a  livelihood  in  the  service  of  society,  but  the  art  of  living. 
This  is  taught  through  philosophy,  history,  literature,  and  aesthet- 
ics. This,  the  last  and  greatest  of  the  arts — ars  vivendi — requires 
no  special  adaptation  of  university  machinery ;  for  it  is  taught 
through  knowledge,  through  thought,  through  habitual  converse 
with  humane  letters.  This  art  of  rational  living  is  summed  up  in 
the  word  'culture,'  to  which  the  physical  sciences  may  make  con- 
tributions, but  which  they  can  never  of  themselves  effect.  It  is  by 
thought  on  things  human  that  the  mind  of  man  is  cultured ;  thought 
on  the  things  of  sense,  in  the  form  of  physical  science,  being  never 
more  than  subsidiary  and  contributory  to  true  culture.  .  .  .  This 
culture,  or  art  of  rational  living,  is  the  highest  aim  of  university 
life.  It  is  promoted  chiefly  through  the  philosophical  faculty, 
within  which  are  included  philosophy  in  its  widest  acceptation, 
economics,  jurisprudence,  history,  literature,  aesthetics,  and,  let  me 
add,  the  principles  of  education,  which  is  simply  the  exposition  of 
the  way  in  which  a  human  soul  grows  to  the  full  fruition  of  its 
powers."— Laurie,  "  The  Training  of  Teachers,"  pp.  267, 268. 

"  While  the  study  of  the  physical  sciences  tends  to  give  power 
over  the  material  forces  of  the  universe,  it  leaves  untouched  the 
greater  forces  of  the  human  heart ;  it  makes  a  botanist,  a  geologist, 
an  electrician,  an  architect,  an  engineer,  but  it  does  not  make  a 
man." — Joseph  Payne,  op.  dt.,  p.  263. 


EDUCATION  VALUES. 


61 


now  obtained  it  may  be  profitable  to  review  these  con- 
trasts. On  what  ground  can  we  defend  the  general  study 
of  the  higher  mathematics  ?  Chiefly  for  its  disciplinary 
value,  and  this  discipline  is  of  the  specific  type.  This 
is  not  a  culture  subject  in  any  true  sense  of  the  term. 
Only  a  partial  (weak)  defence  of  the  higher  mathematics 
can  be  made  on  the  ground  of  its  practical  value,  for 
this  is  mainly  of  the  indirect  order.  It  is  not  in  one 
case  in  a  hundred  that  this  knowledge  is  directly  useful 
to  the  individual  for  his  own  guidance.  The  formal 
description  of  the  higher  mathematics  as  to  its  educa- 
tion value  may  be  thus  (tentatively)  stated  :  direct  prac- 
tical value,  very  low;  indirect  practical  value,  high ;  spe- 
cific disciplinary  value,  very  high ;  tonic  disciplinary  value 
(culture  value),  low.  The  description  of  literature  would 
run  somewhat  in  this  way:  direct  practical  value,  low; 
indirect  practical  value,  low ;  specific  disciplinary  value, 
low;  tonic  disciplinary  value  (culture  value),  very  high. 
To  illustrate  the  fact  that  the  education  value  of  a  sub- 
ject depends,  not  alone  on  its  own  intrinsic  nature,  but  as 
well  upon  the  manner  in  which  it  is  pursued,  I  will  give 
three  descriptions  of  physiology :  (1)  as  it  is  pursued  out 
of  an  ordinary  text-book  in  a  high  school ;  (2)  as  it  is 
studied  experimentally  or  inductivelj' ;  and  (3)  as  it  is 
learned  by  a  mature  scholar  by  the  study  of  a  book, 
or  as  literature.  J  will  tabulate  my  estimates  as  fol- 
lows : 


Direct  practical  value  .  .  . 
Indirect  practical  value  .  . 
Specific  disciplinary  value  .  . 
Tonic  disciplinary  value  (Cul- 
ture value) 


First. 

Second. 

Third. 

Moderate. 

Moderate. 

Moderate. 

Moderate. 

Very  liigb. 

Moderate. 

Low 

Higli. 

Low. 

Low. 

Low. 

High. 

62  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  statement  has  already  been  made  that  not  only 
are  the  practical  value  and  the  disciplinary  value  of  a 
subject  not  identical,  as  Mr.  Spencer  assumes,  but  that, 
on  the  contrary,  they  are  inversely  proportional.  I  am 
not  warranted  in  affirming  that  this  statement  is  true  in 
all  cases,  but  that  it  is  quite  generally  true  I  feel  assured. 
Arithmetic  and  history  furnish  examples  of  my  state- 
ment. To  be  intensely  practical  to  the  business  man, 
arithmetic  should  be  taught  as  a  system  of  rules,  or,  bet- 
ter still,  as  a  manipulation  of  tables,  as  in  the  case  cited ; 
the  nearer  an  accountant  approaches  an  arithmetical  ma- 
chine the  more  rapidly  and  the  more  surely  can  he  do 
his  specific  tasks.  To  be  mindful  of  the  rationale  of 
processes  would  sadly  hamper  Mr.  Spencer's  accountant. 

"  The  centipede  ■n'as  happy  quite, 
Until  the  toad  in  fun 

Asked, '  Pray,  -which  leg  comes  after  which  ?' 
Which  worked  her  mind  to  such  a  pitch, 
She  lay  distracted  in  a  ditch, 
Considering  how  to  run."  * 

Now  arithmetic,  taught  in  this  mechanical  way,  while 
having  a  high  value  for  guidance,  has  almost  no  value 
whatever  for  discipline;  while  arithmetic,  taught  as  a 
science,  has  a  very  high  value  as  a  specific  discipline,  but 
has  a  much  lower  practical  value  than  in  the  previous 
case.  It  is  a  fact  of  common  observation  that  a  pupil 
well  taught  in  the  science  of  arithmetic  cannot  compete 
with  the  merchant's  or  the  grocer's  clerk  in  rapid  and  ac- 
curate computation.  Plato  was  at  least  instinctively  right 
in  declaring  that,  for  purposes  of  a  liberal  education,  arith- 

*  Quoted  from  "  The  Universities,  in  their  Relation  to  the  Train- 
ing of  Teachers,"  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Quick. 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  03 

metic  should  not  be  cultivated  "  with  a  view  to  buying 
and  selling,  as  merchants  or  shopkeepers." 

Mr.  Spencer,  as  is  very  proper,  considering  his  tlieory 
of  education  values,  has  a  small  opinion  of  history.  "  That 
kind  of  information  which,  in  our  schools,  usurps  the 
name  of  historj' — the  mere  tissue  of  names  and  dates, 
and  dead,  unmeaning  events — has  a  conventional  value 
only ;  it  has  not  the  remotest  bearing  upon  any  of  our 
actions,  and  is  of  use  only  for  the  avoidance  of  those  un- 
pleasant criticisms  which  current  opinion  passes  upon  its 
absence."  *  History,  according  to  this  writer,  has  a  value 
for  guidance  only  when  taught  as  a  philosophy  (pp.  65- 
69).  It  is  fair  to  say  that,  even  in  our  highest  institutions 
of  learning,  historical  teaching  very  seldom  attains  this 
purpose ;  and  yet  it  is  equally  certain  that  the  subject,  as 
taught  in  all  our  better  schools,  has  an  almost  incompara- 
ble culture  value,  second,  I  think,  only  to  literature.  The 
special  point  I  have  in  mind  is  this :  for  purposes  of 
daily  guidance,  history  has  but  very  little  value ;  while, 
for  purposes  of  culture,  it  has  a  very  high  value. 

Mainly  for  purposes  of  illustration,  I  add  an  analytical 
table  of  education  values.  I  do  not  presume  that  these 
values  are  the  true  ones.  They  represent  no  small 
amount  of  study,  but  doubtless  further  examination  will 
change  more  than  one  of  them.  I  have  a  hope  that 
some  who  are  cultivating  educational  science  will  give 
me  the  benefit  of  their  markings  as  the  basis  of  a  more 
accurate  table.  I  have  attempted  to  determine  only 
three  degrees  of  value,  high^  medium,  and  low. 

*  "  Education,"  p.  36. 


64 


SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 


SUIMEOTS. 

Reading . . . 
Grammar. . 

History 

Geograpliy. 
Arithmetic . 
Physiology. 

Physics 

Botany 

Literature.. 


PUAOTIO.VI.. 

Direct.    Indirect. 


H. 
M. 
L. 
L. 
M. 
L. 
M. 
L. 
L. 


L. 
L. 
M. 
M. 
L. 
H. 
H. 
M. 
M. 


DlSOlPLINART. 

Speclflc*    Tonic 


L. 
H. 
L. 
L. 
H. 
L. 
L. 
L. 
L. 


L. 
M. 
H. 
H. 
L. 
L. 
M. 
M. 
II. 


By  making  a  distribution  into  three  groups,  this  table 
may  take  the  following  form: 


Peaotioau 

DiBOirUNABT.        1 

Direct. 

Indirect 

Specific 

Tonic 

Reading. 

•    M 

H. 

L. 

L. 

L. 

Physiology. 

a  3 

L. 

H. 

L. 

L. 

Arithmetic. 

(  is 

M. 

L. 

H. 

L. 

History. 

°°£ 

L. 

L. 

L. 

H. 

Literature. 

L. 

H. 

L. 

H. 

Science. 

M. 

H. 

L. 

M. 

Mathematics. 

o 

L. 

H. 

H. 

L. 

Geography. 

«  E 

History. 

I     a  .2 

L. 

H. 

L. 

H. 

Literature. 

A  systematic  discussion  of  education  values  would 
need  to  be  directed  by  a  set  of  rules,  clearly  stated  and 
resolutely  followed.  I  venture  to  suggest  a  few  guides 
of  this  kind. 

1.  Some  standards  of  marking  should  be  selected,  that 
is,  certain  studies  which  exhibit  maximum  values  of  each 
type.  In  my  markings  I  have  used  the  following  stand- 
ards: for  direct  practical  values,  Reading;  for  indirect 
practical  values.  Physiology;  for  specific  disciplinary 


EDUCATION  VALUES. 


65 


values,  Aritliinetic ;  for  tonio  disciidinarrj  values,  His- 
tory. 

2.  The  reflex  or  disciplinary  effect  of  a  study  must  be 
sharply  distinguished  from  its  instrumental  effect  in  the 
way  of  guidance.  On  cL  priori  grounds,  I  think  there  is 
a  reasonable  presumption  that  a  high  value  of  one  order 
precludes  a  high  value  of  the  other  order. 

3.  The  direct  instrumental  value  of  a  study  must  be  as 
sharply  distinguished  from  its  indirect  instrumental  value. 
There  are  still  stronger  d  priori  grounds  for  thinking 
that  these  values  are  inversely  proportional. 

In  studying  these  values,  it  is  necessary  to  take  the 
case  of  pupils  whose  future  vocations  have  not  yet  been 
determined. 

4.  It  would  seem  that  if  the  intensive  (specific)  effect  of 
a  study  be  high,  its  extensive  (tonic)  effect  must  be  low ; 
and  that,  if  its  extensive  effect  be  high,  its  intensive  ef- 
fect must  be  low.  A  subject  cannot  have  a  maximum 
effect  of  both  orders ;  but  it  may  have  a  low  or  medium 
value  of  both  orders. 

I  have  sometimes  employed  a  special  analytical  table 
for  the  examination  of  disciplinary  values.  The  follow- 
ing is  an  example  of  what  I  mean  : 


SCBJKOT. 

Mem- 
ory. 

Obser- 
vation. 

Reason. 

Iinag- 
iuatiou. 

Feeling. 

Compre- 
heubioD. 

Aritlametic. 

M. 

H. 

Botany. 

H. 

H. 

M. 

Geography. 

H. 

M. 

H. 

M. 

II. 

History. 

H. 

H. 

H. 

H. 

Literature. 

n. 

M. 

H. 

]\I. 

Physics. 

L. 

M. 

M. 

Physiology. 

M. 

M. 

L. 

Grammar. 

M. 

H. 

M. 

In  this  table  I  have  tried  to  indicate,  in  each  case,  the 


66  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCxVTION. 

modes  of  mental  activity  that  are  cliieflj  involved,  and 
also  the  different  degrees  in  whicli  they  are  affected.  A 
blank  does  not  indicate  that  no  effect  is  produced.  By 
comprehension  I  mean  tlie  mental  grasping  of  a  definite 
whole.  A  study  that  serves  this  purpose  must  be  con- 
cerned with  a  unit  that  is  large  and  imposing. 

I  beg  leave  again  to  remind  the  reader  that  this  pres- 
entation is  tentative.  The  greatest  assurance  I  feel  is 
that  the'general  line  of  my  thinking  is  right. 

A  considerable  time  has  now  passed  since  the  fore- 
going was  written,  and  I  have  repeatedly  thought  and 
taught  over  the  ground  covered  by  this  discussion.  In 
the  main,  I  feel  confirmed  both  in  the  distinctions  in 
values  which  I  had  noted,  and  in  the  practical  utility  of 
these  distinctions  as  sources  of  scientific  prevision.  On 
one  point  of  importance,  however,  my  opinion  has  been 
changed,  and,  in  making  this  revision,  I  prefer  to  leave 
the  first  statement  in  its  original  form.  My  purpose  is 
not  so  much  to  express  the  truth  as  to  find  it. 

In  the  preceding  analysis  I  have  spoken  of  the  highest 
form  of  the  disciplinary  effect  of  a  study  as  its  culture 
effect.  It  now  seems  to  me  that  the  culture  value  of  a 
subject  is  so  distinct  in  kind  from  tlie  merely  practical 
and  disciplinary  values,  as  to  deserve  to  be  set  off  by  it- 
self. The  distinction  drawn  between  the  two  discipli- 
nary effects  is  valid,  and  the  two  terms  specific  and  tonic 
may  still  serve  to  note  this  difference ;  but  culture  is  not 
so  much  a  state  of  potency  as  a  possession ;  or,  rather,  it  is 
a  state  of  potency  accompanied  by  the  pleasing  conscious- 
ness of  possession.  Under  this  view  knowledge  may  be 
acquired  for  three  distinct  purposes:  (1)  for  the  practi- 
cal use  that  can  be  made  of  it ;  (2)  for  the  mental  power 


EDUCATION  VALUES.  67 

generated  by  the  efforts  at  acquirement ;  (3)  for  the  men- 
tal satisfaction  coming  from  the  conscious  possession  of 
it.  If  I  mistake  not,  that  state  of  soul  we  call  culture 
implies  serenity,  poise,  and  contemplative  delight.  A 
mind  might  be  perfectly  formed,  trained,  or  disciplined, 
yet,  if  it  were  not  furnished  as  well,  it  could  not  be 
called  cultured.  From  this  point  of  view  the  statement 
concerning  the  culture  value  of  mathematics,  made  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  essay,  needs  to  be  qualified.  Any  sub- 
ject pursued  in  such  a  way  and  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
lead  to  a  great  breadth  of  view,  has  an  element  of  culture 
in  it ;  for  the  cultured  man,  as  Plato  says, "  has  magnifi- 
cence of  mind,  and  is  the  spectator  of  all  time  and  all 
existence." 

The  analysis  of  education  values,  then,  which  now 
seems  to  me  valid,  is  as  follows : 


Education  Values.  < 


1.  Practical. 


2.  Disciplinary, 

3.  Culture. 


Direct. 
Indirect. 

1.  Specific. 

2.  Tonic. 


While  the  best  disciplinary  effect  of  study  is  secured 
by  requiring  the  mind  to  work  under  high  tension,  I 
think  it  will  be  found  that  a  much  lower  tension  is  fa- 
vorable to  the  culture  aim.  To  undertake  to  teach  his- 
tory, geography,  and  literature  for  the  distinct  purpose 
of  discipline  would  be  a  mistake,  and  would  end  in  fail- 
ure. These  studies  produce  their  best  effect  through  a 
process  of  slow  infiltration.  The  matter  is  to  be  elabo- 
rated and  assimilated,  and  so  time  is  a  factor  of  first  im- 
portance. A  method  that  is  conversational  and  discur- 
sive is  best,  something  resembling  the  Greek  dialectic. 


68  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Education  is  now  suffering  from  the  well-intended  ef- 
forts of  narrow  constructionists.  With  some,  the  prac- 
tical or  utilitarian  ideal  is  set  up  as  the  almost  exclusive 
aim.  Mr.  Spencer  is  of  this  class.  Others,  with  equal 
partiality,  affect  the  disciplinary  ideal,  and  so  put  a  low 
value  on  subjects  which  do  not  directly  and  readily  min- 
ister to  training.  The  thought  of  teachers  should  be 
turned  to  the  importance  of  contemplative  knowledge. 
Knowledge  that  has  neither  a  practical  nor  a  disciplinary 
value  may  still  minister  in  an  essential  manner  to  the 
requirements  of  complete  living.  History,  literature, 
and  geography  certainly  serve  their  highest  purpose  when 
they  minister  to  our  intellectual  pleasures ;  and  I  think 
reflection  will  make  it  appear  that  the  general  study  of 
science  is  best  defended  on  this  ground. 

This  doctrine  of  the  value  of  knowledge  as  a  source 
of  intellectual  pleasure  has  a  most  important  bearing  on 
the  question  of  moral  education.  Truer  words  than  these 
liave  not  been  spoken  :  "  To  cause  gross  natures  to  pass 
from  the  life  of  the  senses  to  the  intellectual  life;  to 
make  study  agreeable,  to  the  end  that  the  higher  pleas- 
ures of  the  spirit  may  struggle  successfully  against  the 
appetites  for  material  pleasures ;  to  put  the  book  in  the 
place  of  the  wine-bottle ;  to  substitute  the  library  for  the 
saloon  ;  in  a  word,  to  replace  sensation  hy  idea — such  is 
the  fundamental  problem  of  popular  education."  * 

*  Gabriel  Compayrg,  "History  of  Pedagogy"  (Boston,  1886),  p. 
381. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH,  AND   SOME 
APPLICATIONS  OP  THIS  DOCTRINE  TO  TEACHING. 

There  is  the  same  reason  why  the  professional  teacher 
should  have  an  articulate  knowledge  of  psychology  as 
there  is  that  the  professional  physician  should  be  well 
versed  in  physiology.  The  physician  needs  to  know  the 
structure  of  the  human  body  and  the  mode  of  its  organ- 
ic activities,  in  order  that  he  may  adapt  means  to  ends; 
for  skill  in  an  art  consists  in  this  deft  adaptation.  The 
teacher's  art  is  addressed  primarily  and  principally  to 
the  mind ;  and,  if  this  art  is  to  be  rational,  the  teacher 
must  know  the  structure  of  this  organism,  and  the  mode 
of  its  organic  activities.  This  knowledge  of  psychology 
is  professional  knowledge,  strictly  so  called ;  i.  e.,  the 
knowledge  that  chiefly  differentiates  the  teacher  from 
tlie  scholar. 

The  most  instructive  of  the  general  characteristics  of 
mind  is  its  self-activity  in  the  line  of  growth. 

This  conception  involves  the  following  particulars : 

1.  There  must  be  a  supply  of  something  in  the  nature 
of  aliment  that  can  employ  these  activities  and  thus  sus- 
tain this  growth.  In  other  words,  there  must  be  some- 
thing upon  which  the  organism  can  react  in  such  a  way 
that  growth  may  take  place  through  a  process  of  elabora- 
tion and  assimilation.  The  most  general  name  for  this 
aliment  is  knowledge.* 

*  This  conception  of  knowledge  is  well  authorized.  The  follow- 
ing is  a  good  statement  of  the  thought:  "Knowledge  is  the  food 


70  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

2.  The  elaborating  instrument  is  primarily  automatic, 
and  has  uniform  and  predetermined  modes  of  activity ; 
and  in  this  functional  activity  there  is  absolute  continu- 
ity from  infancy  to  maturity.  In  other  words,  the  func- 
tional activity  of  the  mind  is  the  same  whether  in  the 
child  or  the  man ;  just  as  the  functional  activity  of  the 
stomach  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  In  both  departments 
of  growth,  the  organism  may  react  on  one  kind  of  ali- 
ment and  not  on  another ;  but  if  there  is  reaction  at  all, 
it  is  uniform  in  its  mode. 

3.  The  kind  of  growth  will  depend  chiefly  on  two 
things:  (1)  The  state  of  the  elaborating  organism,  as 
weak  or  strong ;  and  (2)  the  kind  of  aliment  that  is  as- 
similated. There  are  innate  differences  in  mental  con- 
stitution that  determine  some  differences  in  the  results  of 
growth.  That  marked  differences  in  mental  regimen 
will  produce  variations  in  growth  is  a  fact  too  obvious 
to  require  comment. 

4.  As  the  mind  is  constitutionally  automatic,  mental 
growth  is  mainly  unconscious ;  the  rule  being  that  when 
aliment  is  supplied  at  the  right  time,  in  the  right  form, 
and  in  due  quantity,  its  elaboration  will  proceed  without 
further  assistance. 


of  the  mind.  In  order  that  food  may  strengthen  the  body,  it  must 
be  duly  digested  andi  assimilated.  And  so  knowledge  must  be 
not  merely  grasped,  in  its  rudiments,  by  the  indiscriminating  mem- 
ory, but  it  must  be  comprehended  and,  so  to  speak,  digested,  in  or- 
der that  it  may  nurture  the  mind." — Johnson's  "  Cyclopaedia,"  ar- 
ticle "  Education." 

Bacon's  conception  of  knowledge  as  mental  food  is  expressed  in 
his  quaint  way  as  follows :  "  Some  Bookes  are  to  be  Tasted,  Others 
to  be  Swallowed,  and  Some  Few  to  be  Chewed  and  Digested."— 
"  Of  Studies." 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  71 

5.  The  automatic  action  of  the  mind,  whereby  it  reacts 
upon  aliment,  may  be  stimulated  and  directed  by  deliber- 
ate purpose.  Thus  a  pupil's  mental  growth  may  be  pure- 
ly spontaneous  or  fortuitous,  or  he  may  determine  that 
he  will  think  on  a  given  subject  for  a  given  purpose,  or 
his  teacher  may  determine  the  purpose  and  the  subject, 
and  then  provoTce  the  process  of  thought  by  some  form 
of  stimulation.  The  normal  stimulant  for  this  specific 
purpose  is  a  question.  Such  a  question  is  a  demand  on 
the  pupil's  resources,  and  the  effort  to  supply  this  de- 
mand determines  some  mode  of  mental  activity. 

6.  The  elaboration  of  aliment  implies  some  loss  of 
identity.  The  original  presentations  may  disappear  as 
such,  but  will  reappear  in  some  higher  form.  The  high- 
est form  of  this  reappearance  is  opinion,  belief,  charac- 
ter, common-sense,  faculty,  power.  A  presentation  has 
served  no  high  purpose  if  it  has  not  suffered  some  degree 
of  transformation.  In  many  cases,  the  presentation  may 
have  served  its  high  purpose  and  then  have  absolutely 
disappeared.  In  this  region  we  find  the  uses  of  forgot- 
ten knowledge.* 

7.  Time  is  an  all-essential  element  in  mental  growth. 

*  Montaigne  illustrates  this  transformation  of  mental  aliment  as 
follows :  "  'Tis  a  sign  of  crudity  and  indigestion  to  vomit  up  what 
we  eat  in  the  same  condition  it  was  swallowed,  and  the  stomach 
has  not  performed  its  office  unless  it  have  altered  the  form  and  con- 
dition of  what  was  committed  to  it  to  concoct." 

]VIr.  Bain  quotes  the  following  Scripture  to  illustrate  this  doc- 
trine: "Except  a  com  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die  it 
abideth  alone ;  but  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." — John 
2di,  24. 

A  striking  paragraph  on  "  The  Uses  of  Forgotten  Knowledge  " 
may  be  found  in  Mr.  Fitch's  "  Lectures  on  Teaching  "  (Cambridge, 
1883),  p.  145. 


72  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Tliere  may  not  only  be  a  long  interval  between  the  re- 
ception of  a  presentation  and  its  elaboration  into  a  high- 
er form,  but  the  progressive  steps  in  this  transformation 
are  indeterminate,  and  so  involve  indeterminate  amounts 
of  time. 

8.  The  distribution  of  aliment  is  subject  to  the  follow- 
ing law :  the  faculty  that  is  strongest,  or  that  needs  the 
least,  will  appropriate  the  most ;  while  the  faculty  that  is 
weakest,  or  that  needs  the  most,  will  appropriate  the 
least.  In  other  words,  the  strong  faculties  will  grow 
stronger,  and  the  weak,  weaker.  If  the  purpose  is  to  pro- 
mote a  symmetrical  growth,  aliment  must,  by  some  means, 
be  diverted  into  these  unaccustomed  channels.  The  only 
mode  of  doing  this  is  by  calling  the  weak  faculties  into 
use.  Exercise  will  determine  a  flow  of  aliment ;  nurture 
will  give  new  strength ;  strength  will  permit  facility ; 
facility  will  make  exercise  agreeable ;  and  so,  by  means 
of  reactions  and  interactions,  there  is  a  virtual  recrea- 
tion of  faculty ;  or,  power  in  esse  has  been  evolved  out  of 
power  in  posse. 

Along  with  this  promotion  of  symmetry  by  excitation, 
there  should  go  some  clipping  of  an  exuberant  faculty, 
by  holding  it  in  abeyance.  The  partial  disuse  of  such 
a  faculty  will  leave  some  energy  unemployed,  and  this 
can  be  transferred  to  the  account  of  a  weaker  member. 

Distaste  for  a  study  generally  indicates  a  loss  of  tone 
in  some  part  of  the  mental  organism ;  and  instead  of  this 
being  a  valid  plea  for  neglecting  a  subject,  it  is  rather  to 
be  regarded  as  an  argument  for  its  pursuit.  There  is, 
at  least,  this  element  of  truth  in  the  ascetic  belief  in  dis- 
agreeable studies. 

On  the  contrary,  with  the  purpose  of  symmetrical 
culture  still  in  mind,  the  fact  that  a  pursuit  is  very  easy, 


THE  CONCErXION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH,  73 

or  very  agreeable,  may  be  a  reason  why  it  oiiglit  to  be 
discouraged.  Wiien  the  period  of  general  training  is 
past,  there  is  no  doubt  that  pursuits  should  lie  iu  the  lines 
of  one's  predilections. 

9.  Tiie  second  condition  of  growth — aliment  being  the 
first — is  exercise.  Two  general  modes  of  mental  activity 
should  be  distinguished.  First,  there  is  tlie  mental  act 
whereby  knowledge  is  gained,  and  then  the  subsequent 
act  by  wliich  it  is  applied  to  use.  Absolutely  speaking, 
the  mind  is  never  passive,  for  activity  is  one  of  the  essen- 
tial marks  of  mind.  States  of  suffering  are  states  of  in- 
tensest  activity.'^  Even  when  the  process  of  learning  is 
most  mechanical,  there  must  be  some  kind  and  degree  of 
mental  reaction,  otlierwise  acquisition  would  be  impossi- 
ble. But,  during  all  processes  of  instruction,  the  mind 
must  constantly  react  on  the  presentations  made  to  it,  and 
this  reaction  is  the  first  mode  of  mental  exercise.  So 
far,  we  may  say  that  the  process  of  alimentation  is  itself 
a  disciplinary  process;  that  the  mind  is  formed  while 
being  informed.  So  far  as  I  am  able  to  see,  the  precept, 
"first  form  the  mind,  then  furnish  it,"  is  an  absurdity 
and  an  impossibility.  The  true  conception  is,  that  the 
mind  is  formed  while  being  furnished. 

The  second  mode  of  mental  exercise  consists  in  the 
use  of  the  knowledge  that  has  been  acquired,  or  in  the 
application  of  knowledge  to  the  production  of  some  de- 
termined result.  These  two  phases  of  exercise  may  be 
distinguished  in  memory  and  recollection,  in  the  repro- 

*  "  Patience  is  no  negation.  It  is  a  vigorous  and  sustained  ac- 
tion, amidst  outward  stillness,  of  some  of  the  most  powerful  facul- 
ties witli  which  the  human  being  is  endowed,  and  primarily  of  its 
powers  of  firmness  and  resistance." — Harriet  Martincau,  "  House- 
hold Education  "  (Boston),  pp.  181, 182. 

4 


74  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ductive  and  the  constructive  imagination,  in  the  learn- 
ing of  a  mathematical  trnth  and  its  application  to  nse, 
etc.,  etc. 

10.  We  mnst  distinguish  accumulation  from  organiza- 
tion ;  that  is,  the  acquisition  of  material  from  its  elabora- 
tion into  structure,  faculty,  and  power.  It  is  customary 
to  state  this  distinction  as  that  between  growth  and  de- 
velopment;* but  I  am  unable  to  conceive  of  develop- 
ment except  as  a  mode  or  a  high  form  of  growth.  The 
facts  in  the  case  seem  to  be  these:  (1)  The  materials  of 
thought  may  be  collected  in  advance  of  their  actual  trans- 
formation into  thought;  and  (2)  this  transformation  is  a 
process  of  infinite  gradations.  But  it  may  be  described 
as  a  progress  from  vagueness  to  definitude,  or  from  a  low 
type  of  organization  to  progressively  higher  types  of  or- 
ganization. "  When  I  was  a  child,"  says  Paul, "  I  thought 
as  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child,  I  understood  as  a  child ;  but 
when  I  became  a  man,  I  put  away  childish  things.  For 
now  [in  infancy  and  here]  we  see  through  a  glass,  darkly, 
but  then  [in  maturity  and  in  the  hereafter]  face  to  face." 

These  facts  should  guard  us  against  two  false  assump- 
tions :  (1)  That  accumulation  and  elaboration  should  -pro- 
ceed pari  passu  ;  and  (2)  that  a  child's  knowledge  should 
necessarily  be  clear  and  definite.  On  the  contrary,  the 
indications  are  that  accumulation  may  precede  elabora- 
tion by  an  indefinite  period ;  that  the  necessary  gaining 
of  material  is  pro  tanto  antagonistic  to  transformation; 
and  that  the  normal  state  of  a  child's  knowledge  is  that 
of  confusion,  vagueness,  and  indefiniteness.  The  con- 
ception of  mind  as  a  growth  makes  this  a  fundamental 

*  See  Sully,  "  Outlines  of  Psychology  "  (London,  1884),  pp.  40, 
54 ;  Spencer, "  Education,"  p.  271. 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  75 

principle  of  instruction :  there  slionld  be  a  gradual  evo- 
lution of  delinitnde  out  of  confusion. 

11.  The  fact  that  material  must  be  collected  somewhat 
in  advance  of  its  transformation,  clearly  points  out  one 
of  the  functions  of  memory,  and  settles  a  disputed  ques- 
tion in  practical  teaching,  viz.,  whether  one  may  memo- 
rize what  may  not  at  the  time  be  understood.  From 
the  view  of  the  mental  processes  that  has  been  stated,  it 
follows  that  the  crude  material  of  thought  should  be 
lield,  so  to  speak,  in  store;  and  this  holding  in  store  is 
the  primary  function  of  memory.  It  follows  further, 
from  this  conception,  that  matter  presented  in  proposi- 
tions not  only  laay^  but  ifnust  be  memorized  before  it  is 
understood  ;  for  the  understanding  of  a  thing  is  synony- 
mous with  its  elaboration  or  its  transformation,  and  elab- 
oration is  impossible  unless  the  material  is  held  within  the 
range  of  the  mind's  activities.  For  truth's  sake,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  distinguish  memory  before  elaboration  from 
memory  after  elaboration.  We  must  memorize  in  order 
that  we  may  understand,  and  then  hold  in  memory  what 
we  have  understood.  The  only  real  question  at  issue  is 
whether  memorizing  should  be  formal  or  informal.  As 
formal  memorizing  favors  clear  representation,  it  is  wor- 
thy of  much  more  respect  than  is  now  paid  it.* 

12.  The  normal  mode  of  the  mind's  reaction  upon  its 
material  is,  first,  by  resolution  or  disintegration,  then  by 
reconstruction  or  reintegration.     The  normal  mode  of 

*  "  Eveiy  rational  curriculum  of  elementary  study  must  be  based 
on  the  fact  that  the  observing  are  called  into  action  before  the  re- 
flecting faculties;  in  other  words,  that  the  food  must  be  swallowed 
before  it  is  digested ;  though  I  believe  it  to  be  an  educational  fal- 
lacy to  maintain  that  therefore  no  food  should  be  swallowed  that 
cannot  be  instantly  digested." — Joseph  Payne,  <yp.  cit.,  p.  2oG. 


76  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

progress  is  from  apprehension  to  comprehension,  from 
confused  aggregates  to  articulate  wholes ;  and  the  normal 
process  is  analysis  complemented  by  a  reciprocal  synthe- 
sis. This  doctrine  is  opposed  to  the  current  assumption 
that  a  child's  knowledge  should,  in  the  first  instance,  bo 
built  up  constructively  out  of  elements  supplied  by  tho 
teacher.  The  true  conception  is,  that  the  mind  is  to  find 
elements  by  the  disintegration  of  some  aggregate,  and 
then  is  to  reconstruct  a  new  whole  out  of  the  parts  of 
this  dismembered  aggregate;  and  that  this  disintegra- 
tion and  reintegration  constitutes  thought  proper. 

13.  The  material  that  serves  for  the  mind's  reactions 
may  be  presented  to  it  immediately  or  mediately ;  that 
is,  it  may  be  intuitive  or  representative — presented  with- 
out the  mediation  of  language  or  with  such  mediation. 
All  knowledge  of  the  past  is  impossible  save  through  the 
mediation  of  symbols ;  knowledge  of  the  remote  and  the 
inaccessible  is  impracticable  save  through  such  media- 
tion ;  and,  through  the  limitation  of  time,  very  much 
that  is  near  must  be  made  known  by  representation.  As 
a  consequence  of  the  division  of  labor,  and  as  a  condition 
of  progress,  knowledge  at  first  hand  must  stand  to  knowl- 
edge at  second  hand  as  a  part  to  a  constantly  and  rapidly 
increasing  whole. 

An  intuitive  presentation  is  concrete  in  tho  strict  and 
limited  sense  of  that  term;  it  is  a  congeries  of  many 
parts  or  qualities,  a  complex  thing,  appealing  directly  to 
the  senses ;  and,  if  the  mind  reacts  upon  it,  it  must  be  in 
the  way  of  discrimination  or  analysis;  it  cannot  be  brought 
into  relation  with  other  knowledge,  cannot  be  assimi- 
lated or  organized,  without  a  discovery  of  its  marks  or 
qualities.     Such  discovery  is  always  analytical. 

Compared  with  an  intuitive  presentation,  a  representa- 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  77 

tivc  presentation,  or  one  made  by  means  of  sytnbols,  is 
always  abstract;  for  language  always  employs  general 
terms.  Strictly  speaking,  therefore,  purely  concrete  in- 
struction is  impossible;  bnt,  by  general  consent,  state- 
ments that  refer  to  an  individual  thing,  and  that  make  a 
direct  appeal  to  sense,  are  called  concrete ;  while  state- 
ments referring  to  a  class,  and  making  no  direct  appeal 
to  sense,  are  called  abstract.  Strictly  speaking,  there  is 
no  absolute  line  between  concrete  and  abstract  instruc- 
tion ;  but,  in  general,  the  degree  of  concreteness  may  be 
estimated  by  nearness  to  sense,  and  the  degree  of  abstract- 
ness  by  remoteness  from  sense.  From  the  psychologi- 
cal point  of  view,  the  essential  thing  to  note  is  that 
whether  the  presentation  be  intuitive,  whether  the  state- 
ment be  (relatively)  concrete,  or  whether  it  be  abstract, 
the  material  thus  offered  the  mind  is  some  complex 
whole;  and,  if  the  mind  reacts  upon  it,  the  mode  of  re- 
action must  be  analytical.  In  other  words,  all  presenta- 
tions, whether  concrete  or  abstract,  conform  to  the  great 
psychological  law,  that  "  the  first  procedure  of  the  mind, 
in  the  elaboration  of  its  knowledge,  is  always  analytical." 
The  following  statements  illustrate  the  almost  insensi- 
ble transition  from  the  so-called  concrete  to  the  abstract. 
The  simple  truth  is,  that  both  elements  appear  in  each 
statement;  but  that  the  concrete  predominates  in  the 
first  members  of  the  series,  and  the  abstract  in  the  last : 

1.  This  rose  (exhibiting  the  object)  is  red. 

2.  That  rose  was  red. 

3.  That  rose  was  beautiful. 

4.  Roses  are  beautiful. 

5.  Rose  is  a  beautiful  color. 

6.  Beautiful  colors  are  admired. 

7.  "A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  forever." 

It  will  be  observed  that,  in  passing  down  this  series, 


78  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

there  is  a  growing  recession  from  sense,  and  an  increas- 
ing extension  of  classes.  Each  statement,  whether  con- 
crete or  abstract,  is  a  complex  whole,  which  the  mind 
must  resolve  before  it  can  be  understood ;  and  the  so- 
called  concrete  statements  permit  the  easier  resolution, 
because  they  are  the  more  likely  to  fall  within  the  range 
of  the  pupil's  experiences,  and  because  the  classes  which 
they  involve,  being  narrower,  it  is  easier  to  detect  an  in- 
dividual of  the  class  referred  to. 

Suppose  this  question  is  asked :  "  Shall  I  make  my  in- 
struction largely  in  the  concrete,  or  may  it  be  largely  in 
the  abstract  ?"  The  question  stated  in  this  general  man- 
ner cannot  be  answered.  If  this  qualification  be  added, 
"  My  pupils  are  young,  and  their  power  of  thinking  low," 
the  answer  is  obvious :  "  Your  instruction  should  be  large- 
ly in  the  concrete."  Or,  if  this  be  the  qualification,  "  My 
pupils  are  mature,  and  are  good  thinkers,"  the  answer  is 
just  as  obvious :  "  Your  statement  may  be  in  the  ab- 
stract." In  other  words,  if  this  famous  rule  were  changed 
to  read,  "  First  the  abstract,  then  the  concrete,"  it  would 
coincide  with  the  general  and  legitimate  practice  of  all 
schools  above  the  primary  grade. 

Concrete  statements  and  abstract  statements  are  both 
legitimate,  because  they  all  conform  to  one  of  the  pri- 
mary laws  of  the  mind's  activities :  The  first  reaction  of 
the  mind  upon  the  presentations  made  to  it  is  always 
Analytical. 

If  the  precept,"  First  the  concrete,  then  the  abstract," 
were  thrown  into  this  form,  it  would  express  a  useful 
truth :  "  Primary  instruction  should  be  largely  of  the 
concrete  type;  advanced  instruction  should  be  largely  of 
the  abstract  type."  This  truth  may  be  illustrated  graph- 
ically as  follows : 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  79 


This  is  the  interpretation  :  "In  the  instruction  of  chil- 
dren, the  concrete  should  predominate,  and  in  the  in- 
struction of  adults,  the  abstract;  and,  in  passing  from 
childhood  to  maturity,  instruction  in  the  concrete  should 
be  gradually  superseded  by  instruction  in  the  abstract." 

The  assumption  that  children  are  unable  to  resolve  or 
interpret  abstract  statements  is  one  of  the  popular  errors 
of  the  day.  In  fact,  they  are  as  quick  to  comprehend  a 
truth  presented  to  the  mind's  eye  as  to  comprehend  a 
fact  or  an  object  presented  to  the  bodily  eye.  In  both 
cases  apprehension  is  easy,  and  comprehension  relatively 
difficult;  but  this  difficulty  is  no  greater  in  the  first  of 
the  above  cases  than  in  the  second.* 

14.  As  the  first  stage  in  thought  proper  is  the  resolu- 
tion of  aggregates,  small  or  great,  it  is  important  to  note 
the  fact  that  the  great  instrument  of  mental  analysis  is 
language.  Let  us  suppose  that  a  general  truth  has  been 
formulated  in  words;  in  what  way  is  the  statement  to  be 
interpreted  to  the  end  that  it  may  be  comprehended  or 
understood  ?  If  the  language  is  significant,  each  word 
arrests  the  attention  upon  one  element  in  the  aggregate, 
so  that,  when  the  series  of  words  has  been  passed  in  re- 
view, the  complex  whole  has  been  broken  up  into  a  larger 

*  "  If  it  should  be  asked,  hoTV  early,  or  at  what  period  of  life,  men 
begin  to  form  general  conceptions  ?  I  answer,  as  soon  as  a  child  can 
say,  with  understanding,  that  he  has  two  brothers  or  two  sisters ; 
as  soon  as  he  can  use  the  plural  number  he  must  have  general  con- 
ceptions."— Thomas  Reid,"  Essays  on  the  Intellectual  Powers  of 
Man"  (London,  1843),  pp.  327, 328. 


80  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

or  smaller  number  of  parts.  Counting  is  a  ready  illns 
tration  of  this  general  process.  In  passing  regularly  fron 
one  upward,  each  nutnber  is  a  determinant;  and  wher 
the  last  number  has  been  reached,  what  at  first  was  an 
indefinite  aggregate  has  been  resolved,  say, into  fifty  parts. 
Analysis  by  means  of  language  is  more  difficult  than  this, 
because  the  word  must  first  be  translated  into  a  notion, 
and  then  the  notion  individualized ;  but,  as  mere  proc- 
esses, reading  and  counting,  are  essentially  the  same,  they 
serve  to  call  attention  to  marks,  and  the  determination 
of  marks  is  a  process  of  resolution. 

The  more  general  a  term  is,  that  is,  the  fewer  its  marks 
and  the  greater  the  number  of  individuals  that  it  con- 
tains, the  more  difficult  it  is  to  interpret  it — that  is,  to 
translate  it  into  au  individual  image.  Hence  the  ob- 
served fact  that  so-called  concrete  statements  are  more 
easily  understood,  or  resolved,  than  abstract  statements. 
At  the  same  time,  another  important  truth  becomes  obvi- 
ous— that  the  pupil's  ability  to  interpret  a  general  state- 
ment is  determined  by  his  knowledge  of  language. 

15.  Whether  instruction  shall  be  concrete  or  whether 
it  may  be  abstract,  that  is,  whether  the  terms  shall  be 
near  to  sense  or  whether  they  may  be  remote  from  it,  is 
thus  a  question  which  depends  very  largely  on  the  child's 
knowledge  of  words  and  his  ability  to  interpret  lan- 
guage, and  so  does  not  admit  of  any  absolute  solution. 
Only  a  general  statement  can  be  made,  somewhat  in  this 
form  :  The  terms  employed  in  the  instruction  of  children 
should  be  narrow  in  extent  and  near  to  sense ;  while  those 
employed  in  the  instruction  of  the  more  mature  may  be 
of  wide  extent  and  remote  from  sense.  All  instruction 
must  employ  general  terras,  and  there  is  always  the  dan- 
ger that  these  terms  may  not  be  individualized,  or,  r-^^'her, 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  81 

realized.  The  remedy  is  in  a  careful  study  of  words,  and 
in  the  testing  of  the  pupil's  interpretation  by  requiring 
him  to  express  the  meaning  b}^  the  use  of  other  symbols. 
16.  Sense-impressions  are  the  original  material  out  of 
which  the  mind,  by  its  elaborativc  processes,  constructs 
the  whole  fabric  of  thought.  Out  of  a  comparatively 
few  primary  notions,  by  combination  and  permutation, 
the  mind  is  furnished  with  an  almost  infinite  variety  of 
new  constructions.*  New  knowledge  is  but  a  new  com- 
bination of  old  material,  and  the  most  of  our  thinking 
consists  in  discovering  or  establishing  relations  between 
part  and  part,  and  between  parts  and  some  containing 
whole.  When  a  sense-impression  has  once  been  estab- 
lished there  is  no  further  need  of  the  object  that  pro- 
duced it.  Forever  after,  the  symbol  of  the  thing  is  all 
that  the  processes  of  thought  require.  The  materials 
for  thinking  are  not  objects,  but  ideas  ;  and,  in  general, 
thought  proper  takes  place  with  the  greatest  facility 
and  sureness  in  the  absence  of  sense-stimulation.  The 
assumption  that  intense  sense-activity  is  conducive  to 
thought  proper  is  a  vulgar  error.  The  senses  have 
served  their  purpose  when  they  have  furnished  the  mind 

*  "  The  senses  supply  the  pabulum  or  nutriment  which  the  intel- 
lect assimilates  or  elaborates  according  to  its  own  proper  laws. 
The  highest  manifestations  of  intellect,  abstract  thought  and  rea- 
soning, illustrate  this  dependence  of  intellectual  activity  on  the 
elements,  materials,  or  "  data  "  of  sense.  The  growth  of  intellect 
by  repeated  exercise  thus  implies  a  continual  supply  of  sense-mate- 
rials, a  multiplication  of  sense-impressions,  to  be  worked  up  into 
intellectual  products." — Sully,  op.  cit.,  p.  48. 

"All  knowledge  takes  its  rise  in  the  senses.  No  intellectual 
work,  such  as  Imagining  and  reasoning,  can  be  done  till  the  senses 
have  supplied  the  necessary  materials." — Ibid.,  p.  107. 

4* 


S2  SCIENQE  OF  EDUCATION. 

with  the  crude  materials  of  thought.  A  prolonged  and 
acute  training  of  the  senses  is  irrational  in  its  tendency: 
it  magnifies  the  animal  and  minimizes  the  man.  The 
movement  of  the  animal  intelligence  is  invariably  out- 
ward; it  makes  no  return  upon  itself.  The  movement 
of  the  human  intelligence  is  somewhat  outward,  but  char- 
acteristically inward.  So  far  as  it  is  rational,  it  returns 
upon  itself  in  the  act  of  reflection.  The  proof  of  this 
doctrine  lies  in  the  incompatibility  of  a  confirmed  out- 
ward flow  of  activity  with  that  inward  flow  which  is  the 
necessary  condition  of  thought  proper;  and  also  in  the 
actual  state  of  the  savage  intellect,  where  we  observe  an 
acute  training  of  the  senses,  conjoined  with  almost  ab- 
solute torpor  of  the  intellect.  In  fact,  the  savage  is  a 
living  example  of  persistent  sense-training. 

The  inference  to  be  drawn  from  this  doctrine  is,  that 
a  training  of  the  senses  that  more  than  suffices  to  furnish 
the  mind  with  the  crude  material  of  thought  is  down- 
ward in  its  tendency.* 

*  "I  really  do  not  know  what  it  is  that  remains  to  be  desired, in 
regard  to  the  ordinary  purposes  of  life,  if  the  body  be  sound  and 
in  high  health,  and  the  mind  be  alert.  It  is  to  the  savage,  or  it  is 
to  men  exercising  special  callings  of  an  inferior  sort,  tliat  there  can 
be  much  benefit  in  having  the  senses  sharpened  to  an  extreme  acute- 


"  In  trutli,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  a  gentleman  might  not 
really  wish  himself  wanting  in  such  legerdemain  perfection  of  the 
senses  as  would  be  likely  to  suggest  to  others  the  belief  that  he 
had  passed  his  childhood  under  the  tuition  of  a  gang  of  gypsies. 

"  For  the  rest,  tliat  is  to  say,  whatever  reaches  its  end  in  the  bod- 
ily perceptions,  I  think  we  can  go  but  a  very  little  way  without  so 
giving  the  mind  a  bent  toward  the  lower  faculties,  as  must  divert 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  b3 

17.  Feeling  and  thinking  are  mental  states  in  such 
broad  contrast  that,  in  their  extreme  manifestation,  they 
are  mutually  exclusive.  That  is,  intense  feeling  is  fatal 
to  thinking,  and  intense  thinking  deadens  feeling.  It 
seems  to  be  one  of  the  ultimate  facts  of  our  mental  con- 
stitution, that  the  tendency  of  wholeness  is  to  excite  and 
sustain  feeling,  and  the  tendency  of  analysis  is  to  prevent 
or  destroy  feeling.  Conversely,  feeling  resists  the  de- 
composition of  aggregates,  and  so  opposes  thinking ;  and 
thinking,  so  far  as  it  is  analytical,  destroys  the  emotional 
element  in  an  object. 

Some  of  the  more  important  inferences  to  be  drawn 
from  this  doctrine  are  the  following: 

(1.)  Sense  activity,  per  se,  is  unfavorable  to  thinking. 
This  has  been  noted  in  a  general  way,  in  the  preceding 
section. 

(2.)  The  normal  condition  for  thinking  is,  in  Mr.  Bain's 
happy  phrase,  "  the  quiescence  of  the  emotions."  Inter- 
est in  the  individuality  of  a  thing,  partisanship,  preju- 
dice, passion,  affection,  are  each  and  all  the  enemies  of 
thought  proper.  Tliey  resist  discrimination  and  insight, 
and  so  becloud  and  betray  the  judgment.  The  common 
saying  that  "  love  is  blind  "  involves  a  ■whole  philoso- 

(3.)  The  direct  tendency  of  mental  culture  is  to  weak- 
en the  empire  of  passions  and  emotion  ;  and,  consequent- 
ly, mental  culture  is  at  the  same  time  moral  culture. 

it  from  the  exercise  of  the  higher.  A  man  may  be  a  proficient  in 
active  sports  and  gentlemanly  gymnastics,  compatibly  with  ele- 
gance and  elevation  of  mind ;  but  it  is  another  thing  so  to  send  the 
soul  outward  toward  its  perceptive  consciousness  as  to  imbue  it 
with  the  organic  sensitiveness  of  the  lynx,  the  hare,  or  the  spider." 
—Isaac  Taylor,  "  Home  Education"  (London,  1867),  pp.  100, 107. 


84  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

(4.)  As  the  purpose  of  art  is  to  please,  an  analysis  of  a 
work  of  art  that  just  suffices  to  raise  the  quality  of  its 
wholeness  is  conducive  to  its  high  purpose ;  while  any 
analysis  that  tends  to  injure  or  to  destroy  this  organic 
unity  defeats  the  supreme  purpose  of  the  artist.  Prox- 
imate analysis  heightens  the  notion  of  organic  unity, 
while  ultimate  analysis,  especially  if  it  serves  some  tech- 
nical end,  as  surely  destroys  such  unity.  Literary  criti- 
cism, as  now  administered  in  many  secondary  schools, 
transgresses  this  law  of  aesthetic  unity. 

18.  We  state  a  well-known  physiological  fact  when  we 
say  that  the  feeling  of  hunger  is  the  motive  for  eating; 
and  it  is  a  truth  of  the  same  order,  but  of  wider  signifi- 
cance, to  state  that  the  feeling  of  interest  is  the  motive 
that  leads  the  mind  first  to  apprehend  and  then  to  com- 
prehend. I  do  not  forget  that  the  earliest  movement  of 
the  mind  is  automatic  or  instinctive,  nor  tliat  automatism 
always  plays  an  important  part  in  mental  growth ;  but  I 
here  refer  to  another  characteristic  fact,  that  the  larger 
part  of  mental  activity  is  volitional,  and  that  the  will  is 
stimulated  by  motive.  Perhaps  the  clearest  concej)tion 
of  the  mechanism  of  motives  may  be  gained  by  regard- 
ing them  as  forces  that  act,  some  by  attraction^  and  oth- 
ers hy  propulsion.  In  other  words,  we  may  do  a  thing 
because  there  is  some  force  ahead  of  us  drawing  us  tow- 
ard the  object ;  or  because  there  is  some  force  behind  us 
pushing  us  toward  the  object.  Pleasurable  motives  af- 
fect us  in  the  first  way,  and  painful  ones  in  the  second 
way.  Under  the  deft  manipulation  of  motives,  teaching 
becomes  a  fine  art ;  and  an  adequate  exposition  of  this 
theme  would  constitute  the  most  valuable  chapter  in  ap- 
plied psycliology.  I  can  do  no  more  than  state  a  few 
practical  observations : 


THE  CONCEPTION  OF  MENTAL  GROWTH.  85 

(1.)  The  ultimate  aim  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  estab- 
lish motives  of  the  attractive  sort,  that  will  act  continu- 
ously and  powerfully.  Perhaps  a  love  of  knowledge  for 
its  own  sake,  or  a  confirmed  taste  for  intellectual  im- 
provement, is  the  highest  and  most  comprehensive  mo- 
tive that  the  teacher  can  seek  to  establish.  But  this 
motive  must  be  regarded  as  the  last  term  of  an  ascend- 
ing series. 

(2.)  A  less  diffuse,  but  more  intense,  motive  is  what 
Mr.  Bain  terms  "  intrinsic  charm,"  a  feeling  developed 
and  sustained  by  the  particular  subject  in  hand.  A  ready 
illustration  of  this  motive  is  the  feeling  excited  by  a 
work  of  fictioij.  It  is  possible  that  the  sustaining  mo- 
tive in  the  study  of  geometry  or  of  grammar  may  be  of 
this  sort. 

(3.)  Before  the  motive  of  "intrinsic  charm"  can  be 
brought  into  service,  it  will  often  be  necessary  to  arouse 
the  feeling  of  pleasure  in  prospect.  Per  se,  a  study 
may  be  uninteresting;  but  if  the  pupil  can  be  made  to 
see  that  some  future  good  is  involved  in  it,  he  will  en- 
dure some  degree  of  present  discomfort.  But  when  the 
study  is  once  fairly  under  way,  it  is  always  possible  to 
awaken  the  feeling  of  interest  in  the  subject  itself. 

(4.)  Closely  related  to  the  preceding  is  what  may  be 
called  horrowed  interest,  from  the  circumstance  that  an 
enthusiasm  manifested  by  a  teacher,  by  classmates,  or  by 
a  friend,  will  often  induce  a  like  feeling  in  the  breast  of 
the  learner.  Inherited  predilections  and  antipathies  are 
very  common  and  very  powerful  motives. 

(5.)  At  this  point  we  probably  cross  the  line  separating 
the  attractive  from  the  propelling  motives.  It  is  doubt- 
less to  be  regretted  that  it  should  ever  be  necessary  to  re- 
sort to  these  vis  a  tergo  motives ;  but,  accepting  things  as 


86  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

we  find  them,  as  we  are  very  often  bound  to  do,  we  are 
obliged  to  employ  stimulants  of  the  painful  sort.  But 
these  modes  of  stimulation  should  be  regarded  as  artifi- 
cial and  temporary,  to  be  superseded,  as  soon  as  possible, 
by  the  attractive  motives  first  described. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  GENESIS  OP  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE. 

Doubtless  the  broadest  generalization  yet  reached,  in 
educational  science,  is  this :  "  The  education  of  the  child 
must  accord,  both  in  mode  and  arrangement,  with  the 
education  of  mankind  as  considered  historically ;  or,  in 
other  words,  the  genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  individual 
must  follow  the  same  course  as  the  genesis  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  race."*  Mr. Spencer  attributes  the  enuncia- 
tion of  this  doctrine  to  Comte,  though  Condillac  had 
previously  drawn  up  a  scheme  of  education  avowedly 
based  on  this  assumed  principle. f 

Mr.  Spencer's  proof  of  this  doctrine  is  to  this  effect : 
what  is  true  of  the  aggregate  must  be  true  of  each  of 
the  units  comprising  the  aggregate ;  the  race  acquired  its 
knowledge  in  a  certain  way,  and  therefore  each  individ- 
ual of  the  race  must  acquire  his  knowledge  in  the  same 
way.  The  word  Must,  in  Mr.  Spencer's  thought,  at  once 
involves  us  in  a  curious  dilemma.  Had  he  said  Should, 
or  Ought,  we  might  be  forewarned  against  an  error;  but 
if  it  be  true  that  there  is  but  one  way  in  which  the  indi- 
vidual can  gain  his  knowledge,  as  Mr.  Spencer  declares,:}: 

*  Spencer,  "  Education,"  p.  122. 

t  "  (Euvres  de  Condillac"  (Paris,  1798),  tome  v.,  pp.  i.-xlis. 

I  "As  the  mind  of  humanity,  placed  in  the  midst  of  phenomena, 
and  striving  to  comprehend  them,  has,  after  endless  comparisons, 
speculations,  experiments,  and  theories,  reached  its  present  knowl- 
edge of  each  subject  by  a  specific  route,  it  may  rationally  be  in- 


83  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

then  error  is  impossible;  the  cnrrent  mode  of  acquisition 
is  the  normal  mode,  and  to  preach  a  reform  in  this  partic- 
ular is  an  inexcusable  waste  of  breath.  But,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  Mr.  Spencer  prescribes  a  radical  reform ;  it  fol- 
lows, therefore,  that  the  genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  in- 
dividual need  not  of  necessity  be  the  same  as  the  gene- 
sis of  knowledge  in  the  race.  The  only  form  in  which 
the  question  can  be  discussed  is  this:  Should  the  indi- 
vidual gain  his  knowledge  in  the  same  way  in  which  the 
race  as  a  whole  gained  its  knowledge?  The  answer  de- 
pends on  the  manner  in  which  we  interpret  the  "gene- 
sis of  knowledge  in  the  race."  Two  interpretations  are 
possible,  one  of  which  n)akesMr.  Spencer's  assumption  a 
truth  and  the  other  an  untruth.  I  will  now  state  what 
I  conceive  to  be  the  "genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  race." 
It  will  be  granted  that  in  knowledge,  as  in  wealth,  the 
race  has  made  progress  from  age  to  age,  and  even  from 
generation  to  generation.  Now  progress  is  possible  only 
under  this  condition  :  inheritance  supplemented  hy  indi- 
vidual acquisition.^     Without  inheritance  there  can  be 

ferred  that  the  relationship  between  mind  and  phenomena  is  such 
as  to  prevent  this  knowledge  from  being  reached  by  any  other 
route ;  and  that,  as  each  child's  mind  stands  in  this  same  relation- 
ship to  phenomena,  they  can  be  accessible  to  it  only  through  the 
same  route." — "  Education,"  p.  123. 

*  "The  science  of  humanity,  like  humanity,  ought  to  be  pro- 
gressive ;  and  there  is  progress  only  on  two  conditions :  first,  to 
represent  all  one's  predecessors ;  then,  to  be  one's  self,  to  sum  up 
all  anterior  labors,  and  to  add  to  them."— Cousin,  "  History  of 
Modern  Philosophy  "  (New  York,  1869),  i.,  p.  212. 

"  There  is  not  a  person  in  a  civilized  state  who  does  not  share  in 
the  inheritance  of  institutions,  knowledge,  ideas,  doctrines,  etc., 
which  come  down  as  fruits  of  civilization.  We  take  these  things 
in  by  habit  and  routine,  and  suppose  that  they  come  of  themselves, 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE.  89 

no  progress ;  for  tlien,  cacli  generation  must  start  where 
the  preceding  generation  started.  And  progress  is  quite 
as  impossible  without  individual  acquisition ;  for  in  this 
case  each  generation  would  stop  where  the  preceding  gen- 
eration stopped.  If  we  conceive  the  race  as  consisting 
of  a  succession  of  generations,  the  law  of  progress  will 
stand  somewhat  as  follows:  A;  I  (A)  +  A  ;  I  (2A)  +  A; 
I(3A)  +  A;  I  (4x\)-f  A;  I  (5A)  +  A.  I  indicates  what 
each  generation  inherits,  and  A  what  it  adds  to  its  in- 
heritance. To  accept  no  part  whatever  of  capitalized  ex- 
perience is  an  impossibility.  In  climate,  in  society,  in 
language,  in  means  of  communication,  in  heredity,  in  a 
thousand  ways  that  might  be  enumerated,  we  are  the  in- 
voluntary heirs  of  all  past  ages ;  and  to  renounce  this 
inheritance,  and  to  start  even  within  a  thousand  years  of 
where  the  race  started,  is  an  absolute  impossibility.  The 
law  of  inheritance  is  involved  in  the  division  of  labor, 
for  in  the  lifetime  of  our  benefactors  we  partake  of  the 
results  of  their  industry  and  skill.  Can  any  man  pro- 
duce even  a  tenth  of  what  he  needs  to  support  the  con- 
ditions of  the  life  into  which  he  is  born  ?  As  it  is  im- 
possible to  reproduce  the  environment  even  of  the  gen- 


or  are  innate.  .  .  .  Every  man  in  a  civilized  state  inherits  a  status 
of  riglits  which  form  the  basis  and  stay  of  his  civil  existence. 
These  rights  are  often  called  'natural.'  In  truth,  they  are  the 
product  of  the  struggles  of  thousands  of  generations.  Men,  before 
they  were  capable  of  reflection  or  had  developed  science,  had  but 
one  process  for  learning :  that  was  by  trial  and  failure.  They  paid 
with  their  blood  the  penalty  of  all  their  mistakes,  and  the  price  of 
all  their  experiments  which  failed.  Our  inheritance  of  established 
rights  is  the  harvested  product  of  the  few  successful  experiments 
out  of  thousands  which  failed." — W.  G.  Sumner,  iVor^A  Amer.  Rev., 
June,  1884,  p.  575. 


90  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

eration  immediately  preceding,  much  less  of  the  early 
generations,  it  is  absurd  to  talk  of  beginning  where  the 
race  began,  and  of  repeating  its  experiences.  We  could 
not  do  this  if  we  would,  we  should  not  if  we  could. 

The  law  of  progress  in  knowledge  conforms  to  the 
general  law  above  formulated.  If  we  distinguish  second- 
hand, or  capitalized,  knowledge,  from  knowledge  that  is 
gained  by  original  discovery,  or  by  rediscovery,  and  des- 
ignate the  former  by  the  symbol  C,  and  the  latter  by  the 
symbol  D,  the  general  law  of  the  "  genesis  of  knowl- 
edge in  the  race"  will  take  this  form:  D;  C  (D)-f-D; 
C  (2D)  +  D ;  C  (3D)  +  D ;  C  (4D)  +  D.  In  the  acquisition 
of  knowledge,  is  it  possible  for  the  individual  to  begin 
where  the  race  began  and  to  proceed  as  the  race  proceed- 
ed ?  He  cannot  begin  where  the  race  began,  for  it  is 
not  possible  to  reproduce  the  environment  of  the  nascent 
race ;  but  if  we  conceive  the  race  composed  of  successive 
generations,  the  individual  may  gain  his  knowledge  ac- 
cording to  the  same  general  mode  by  which  the  race  ac- 
quired its  knowledge.  No  given  generation  can  acquire 
by  original  discovery,  nor  by  rediscovery,  all  the  knowl- 
edge needed  for  its  use ;  but  it  must  accept  certain  por- 
tions of  the  knowledge  accumulated  by  preceding  gener- 
ations at  second-hand  or  on  trust,  and  to  this  add  such 
knowledge  as  it  may  gain  by  its  own  independent  activ- 
ity. The  individual  must  follow  the  same  general  course. 
Much  of  the  knowledge  that  he  needs  for  his  guidance 
Jje  cannot  learn  at  all,  so  difficult  of  attainment  is  it,  and 
so  engrossing  are  the  special  activities  involved  in  the 
support  of  daily  life.  Here,  as  before,  the  division  of 
labor  involves  one  form  of  inheritance.  If  the  food  we 
eat  or  the  water  we  drink  needs  to  be  analyzed,  we  beg, 
or  borrow,  or  buy  the  knowledge  and  skill  of  an  expert. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  TOE  RACE.  SI 

III  other  words,  there  is  knowledge  absolutely  necessary 
on  occasion  that  we  cannot  afford  to  acquire  at  all.  In 
all  such  cases  we  submit  to  the  guidance  of  others;  we 
walk  by  faith  when  we  cannot  walk  by  sight. 

But  leaving  out  of  account  this  special  and  peculiar 
knowledge,  it  is  only  a  small  part  of  what  we  need  to 
know  that  we  can  acquire  by  original  discovery,  or  even 
rediscovery.  There  is  knowledge  that  must  be  gained  at 
second-hand,  if  gained  at  all.  Mr.  Spencer  is  very  con- 
sistent in  discrediting  the  value  of  historical  knowledge, 
for,  as  he  interprets  the  "  genesis  of  knowledge  in  the 
race,"  its  acquisition  would  be  impossible.  All  such 
knowledge  is  absolutely  inaccessible  by  direct  means; 
but  there  are  other  kinds  of  knowledge  necessary  for 
guidance  and  culture  that  are  relatively  inaccessible  by 
direct  means,  such  as  geographical,  scientific,  theological, 
etc.  Must  the  individual  construct  his  own  almanac? 
Must  he  forego  his  newspaper  and  gazetteer,  and  depend 
for  news  on  what  he  can  discover  by  travel?  On  what 
principle  may  he  read  "Education,"  and  "  Social  Statics," 
and  "  Principles  of  Psychology,"  if  Mr.  Spencer's  inter- 
pretation of  the  "genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  race"  is 
correct?  But  some  one  who  is  more  anxious  to  defend 
a  theory  than  to  acknowledge  the  force  of  plain  facts 
will  say :  "  This  is  not  knowledge,  but  information  ;  we 
know  only  what  has  the  sanction  of  our  personal  experi- 
ence." Then  there  is  no  such  thing  as  historical  or  the- 
ological knowledge.  We  do  not  know  that  Moses  and 
Caesar  and  Napoleon  and  Washington  once  lived,  or  that 
certain  divine  laws  are  bindine:  on  human  conduct.  And 
so  we  who  have  not  travelled  do  not  know  that  there  are 
such  cities  as  London  and  Paris  and  Rome.  Do  we 
know  our  own  names,  and  the  names  of  our  parents  and 


93  SCIENCE   OF  EDUCATION. 

intimate  friends,  and  of  the  place  where  we  live,  and  of 
our  country  ?  In  the  last  analysis  our  knowledge  of  these 
things  rests  only  on  tradition  ;  our  "firm  belief  of  what 
is  true  "  in  all  such  matters  does  not  rest  at  all  on  the 
ground  of  personal  experience.  Is  this  knowledge  or 
information  ? 

It  is  said,  in  defence  of  this  distinction,  that  we  are 
liable  to  deception  in  whatever  does  not  fall  under  our 
personal  observation  ;  and  hence  that,  outside  of  the  do- 
main of  our  own  experience,  we  cannot  be  said  to  know. 
Shall  we  refuse  to  call  the  current  coin  of  the  ^ay  money 
because  we  are  now  and  then  in  possession  of  a  counter- 
feit piece,  or  because  we  did  not  actually  make  the  coin 
that  passes  through  our  hands  ?  Besides,  we  are  liable  to 
deception  even  within  the  domain  of  our  own  proper  ex- 
perience. 

The  dogma  that  learning  should  be  a  process  of  dis- 
covery, or  of  rediscoverj^  carries  with  it  the  assumption 
that  nothing  is  real  knowledge  unless  it  has  the  sanction 
of  the  learner's  personal  experience.  This  theory  denies 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  second-hand  knowledge  ;  it 
is  only  information  or  helief.  For  example,  if  I  see  a 
house  burn,  I  have  acquired  an  item  of  real  knowledge, 
for  my  own  senses  have  been  impressed  with  an  actual 
occurrence;  but  when  I  have  related  to  a  reporter  what 
I  saw,  what  was  knowledge  to  me  has  become  only  infor- 
mation to  him ;  and  when  the  reader,  a  thousand  miles 
away,  has  perused  the  reporter's  account,  he  stands  re- 
lated to  the  transaction  in  the  third  degree,  and  is  by  so 
much  the  less  entitled  to  say  that  he  knows  a  house 
burned  at  a  stated  time ;  the  most  that  he  can  say  is  that 
he  helieves  such  a  thing  occurred ;  he  has  only  informa- 
tion on  this  point. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE.  03 

The  reader  will  at  once  discover  the  bearin<5  of  this 
distinction.  Learning,  it  is  agreed,  shonld  consist  in  the 
acquisition  of  knowledge;  but  as  knowledge  is  a  mental 
state,  induced  by  acts  of  reflection  or  of  observation,  lan- 
guage can  by  no  possibility  be  the  source  of  knowledge, 
and  books  serve  no  other  purpose  in  real  learning  than 
to  facilitate  the  gaining  of  actual  experience. 

For  example,  a  book  contains  the  statement  that  a 
given  volume  of  carbonic  acid  is  composed  of  one  vol- 
ume of  carbon  vapor  and  two  volumes  of  oxygen. 

This  statement  is  not  knowledge,  for  it  rests  only  on 
authority ;  but  it  may  be  converted  into  knowledge  by 
being  actually  verified  by  the  reader;  he  must  actually 
rediscover  the  composition  of  carbonic  acid,  in  order  that 
he  may  attain  real  knowledge ;  and  the  only  value  of 
the  book  consists  in  pointing  out  the  right  track  to  fol- 
low. This,  in  brief,  is  the  theory  of  knowledge  made 
necessary  by  Mr.  Spencer's  theory  of  education. 

When  generalized,  this  theory  amounts  to  this:  We 
know  only  what  we  have  dbsermd.  The  term  observed 
is  used  in  its  widest  sense,  as  including  observation  prop- 
er and  reflection  ;  we  may  know  subjective  as  well  as  ob- 
jective phenomena.  By  the  light  of  this  theor}'',  let  us 
note  what  we  know  and  what  we  do  not  know.  Of 
course  we  shall  be  obliged  to  transfer  many  items  of  sup- 
posed knowledge  to  the  category  of  beliefs.  The  first 
consequence  of  the  theory  is  that  we  can  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  anything  outside  the  sphere  of  our  own  observa- 
tion. We  know  nothing  that  occurred  prior  to  our  birth ; 
we  do  not  even  know  that  anything  did  occur  prior  to 
that  period.  Worse  still,  we  do  not  know  that  that  par- 
ticular event  itself  ever  occurred,  nor  do  we  know  that 
we  shall  die.     For  the  knowledge  of  this  fact  we  must 


94  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

wait  till  we  have  had  tliis  experience,  and  then,  of  course, 
it  is  too  late  to  serve  our  purpose.  We  do  not  even 
know  our  own  names,  nor  the  names  of  our  friends.  If 
we  impose  names  on  our  children,  we  might  be  supposed 
to  know  their  names,  but  only  on  the  hypothesis  that  we 
know  that  such  and  such  beings  are  really  our  children — 
a  thing  that  is  virtually  impossible  by  the  terms  of  the 
new  theory.     This  statement  may  need  illustration. 

J.  S.  Mill  remarks :  "  What  we  are  said  to  observe  is 
usually  a  component  result,  of  which  one  tenth  may  be 
observation  and  the  remaining  nine  tenths  inference."  * 
In  illustration  of  this  statement  he  says :  "  I  affirm  that 
I  saw  my  brother  at  a  certain  hour  this  morning.  If 
any  proposition  concerning  a  matter  of  fact  could  be 
commonly  said  to  be  known  by  the  direct  testimony  of 
the  senses,  this  surely  would  be  so.  The  truth,  however, 
is  far  otherwise.  I  only  saw  a  certain  colored  surface; 
or,  rather,  I  had  the  kind  of  visual  impressions  which  are 
usually  produced  by  a  colored  surface ;  and,  from  these 
as  marks,  known  to  be  such  by  previous  experience,  I 
concluded  that  I  saw  my  brother.  I  might  have  had 
sensations  precisely  similar,  when  my  brother  was  not 
there."  Still  further  to  eliminate  the  element  of  infer- 
ence from  supposed  observation,  let  us  take  another  sim- 
ple case.  We  are  told,  or  we  read,  that  a  certain  object 
weighs  a  thousand  pounds.  Our  theory  requires  us  to 
reject  this  as  knowledge,  and  so  we  verify  the  statement 
by  placing  the  object  in  the  scales  and  adjusting  the  bal- 
ance. Then  our  belief  is  converted  into  knowledge.  Not 
60  fast.  Our  knowledge,  we  must  recollect,  is  measured 
by  what  we  have  observed.  The  only  essential  fact 
we  have  observed  in  this  case  is  that  when  the  balance 
*  "  Logic"  (New  York,  1867),  p.  384. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE.  95 

is  struck  the  weight  stands  at  tlie  mark  "  1000."  Our 
hasty  conclusion  involves  two  very  large  assumptions: 
(1)  that  the  weight  is  accurate,  and  (2)  that  the  levers  of 
.the  scales  are  accurately  adjusted.  We  know  neither  of 
these  things  by  our  own  observation.  We  might  meas- 
ure the  levers  and  test  the  weight,  but  both  these  proc- 
esses would  require  a  standard,  and  how  can  we  vouch 
for  the  accuracy  of  the  standards?  In  this,  as  in  thou- 
sands of  analogous  cases,  we  are  finally  confronted  witli 
mere  authority,  and  beyond  this  we  are  powerless  to  go. 
The  reader  will  observe  tliat  by  the  terms  of  this  the- 
ory of  knowledge  we  cannot  affirm  that  we  know  the 
iiume  of  any  of  the  countless  objects  that  surround  us, 
save,  of  course,  those  objects  on  which  we  may  have  im- 
posed a  name.  It  need  not  be  said  that  there  can  be  no 
such  thing  as  geographical  knowledge,  save  within  the 
little  sphere  of  one's  own  observations,  and  even  within 
this  sphere  we  cannot  affirm  that  we  know  the  name  of 
a  single  object,  for  all  name-giving  in  this  realm  tran- 
scends our  experience.  In  science,  the  situation  is  near- 
ly as  bad,  for  inference  constitutes  even  more  than  nine 
tenths  of  scientific  procedure,  and,  in  what  is  called  ex- 
perimental research,  there  is  the  implication  of  author- 
ity at  every  step.  On  the  hypothesis  we  are  now  discuss- 
ing, astronomical  and  chemical  knoioledge  would  be  near- 
ly out  of  the  question  for  the  great  mass  of  mankind. 
Keally  to  Tcnow  that  an  eclipse  will  occur  is  a  simple  im- 
possibility, for  who  can  observe  what  is  to  he  f  The  past 
and  the  future  are  both  unknowable.  In  fact,  tin's  as- 
sumed theory  of  knowledge  ends  in  an  almost  absolute 
agnosticism,  and  reduces  the  field  of  learning  to  the  nar- 
row dimensions  that  fall  within  the  sphere  of  the  animal 
intelligence. 


90  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

In  what  has  preceded,  I  have  merely  noted  some  of  tlie 
more  obvious  implications  of  the  new  philosophy;  I 
have  simply  extended  this  latest  theory  of  knowledge  to 
its  logical  consequences.  Of  course,  these  consequences 
are  repugnant  to  the  common-sense  of  mankind,  and 
were  certain  theorists  to  be  confronted  with  them  in  the 
form  here  stated,  they  would  doubtless  attempt  to  save 
their  thesis  by  resorting  to  verbal  legerdemain. 

Let  us  now  turn  from  these  dreamy  absurdities  to  a 
conception  of  knowledge  that  is  consonant  with  com- 
mon-sense, and  that  makes  possible  a  field  of  learning 
worthy  of  human  intelligence. 

"Knowledge,"  says  Whately,  "implies  three  things: 
(1)  Firm  Beliefs  (2)  of  what  is  true^  (3)  on  suflScient 
grounds^  *  Knowledge  and  belief,  then,  do  not  belong 
to  different  categories,  as  the  new  theory  assumes,  but 
knowledge  is  merely  belief  of  a  certain  degree.  "  A  low 
degree  (of  belief)  is  termed  presumption ;  a  higher  de- 
gree, probability ;  and  the  highest  possible  degree  is 
termed  certainty.  When  the  mind  is  in  that  state  de- 
nominated certainty,  we  are  generally  said  to  know  the 
thing  to  which  this  very  strong  belief  relates  "  (Upham). 
The  grounds  of  this  belief  are  consciousness,  the  senses, 
testimony,  memory,  inference.  The  new  theory  denies 
that  knowledge  can  result  from  testimony,  oral  or  writ- 
ten. "  Without  a  general  confidence  in  what  men  assert, 
every  one's  knowledge  of  events  and  facts  would  be  lim- 
ited to  those  only  to  which  he  himself  had  been  a  per- 
sonal witness.  In  this  case  no  American,  who  had  not 
been  a  traveller,  could  believe  that  there  was  such  a  city 
as  London;  .  .  .  and  no  person  whatever  has  any  ground 
for  believing  that  such  men  as  Hannibal  and  Caesar  have 
•  "  Logic,"  iv.,  2. 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  THE  RACE.  97 

ever  existed.  With  the  great  mass  of  mankind  the  ex- 
clusion of  testimony  as  a  ground  of  belief  would  be  the 
means  of  depriving  them  of  the  greater  part  of  what  they 
now  know  "  (Upham  *).  This  conception  of  knowledge 
is  wholly  at  variance  with  the  assumption  that  each  in- 
dividual, in  the  attainment  of  his  knowledge,  must  lapse 
into  a  state  of  modified  barbarism. 

There  is  historical,  geographical,  and  astronomical 
knowledge ;  we  do  know  our  names,  the  fact  of  our  birth, 
and  the  certainty  of  death.  Books  are  neither  necessary 
evils  nor  simple  conveniences,  but  are  the  universal  and 
indispensable  means  whereby  knowledge  is  gained  on 
the  ground  of  human  testimony.  Books  extend  the 
range  of  mental  vision,  just  as  the  telescope  is  a  virtual 
extension  of  bodily  vision. 

The  theory  that  knowledge  cannot  bo  capitalized  has 
been  stated  in  this  wise : 

Knowledge  is  a  mental  state. 

Mental  states  cannot  he  transmitted. 

Knowledge  cannot  he  transmitted. 

We  might  offset  this  syllogism  with  another: 

There  has  heen  progress  in  knowledge  from  age  to  age. 
Progress  implies  transmission. 
Knowledge  has  heen  transmitted. 

A  little  reflection  will  show  that  the  fallacy  in  the  first 
statement  lurks  in  the  term  ti'ansmit.  Substitute  repro- 
duce for  transmit  and  the  absurdity  of  the  conclusion  be- 
comes apparent.  Mental  states  cannot  only  be  repro- 
duced in  successive  generations  of  minds  by  the  presence 
of  similar  excitations,  but  these  reproductions  may  occur 
through  the  stimulus  of  symbols.     The  objects  a,  h,  and 

♦"Elements  of  Mental  Philosophy"  (Boston,  1883),  p.  126. 

5 


98  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

c  produce  a  certain  mental  state  in  A  ;  can  a  similar  men» 
tal  state  be  induced  in  the  mind  of  B  without  the  pres- 
ence of  these  objects?  Certainly.  Certain  persons  wit- 
nessed the  killing  of  Caesar  by  Brutus ;  they  therefore 
knew  the  fact.  But  we  also  know  this  fact,  not  imme- 
diately, as  witnesses  through  sense-stimulation,  but  me- 
diately, by  the  reproduction  of  a  certain  mental  state 
through  symbol -stimulation.  Any  composite  notion 
may  be  reproduced  through  this  secondary  form  of  stim- 
ulation, provided  the  ultimate  elements  of  this  notion 
have  once  been  in  consciousness.  A  melody  of  Beetho- 
ven may  not  only  be  reproduced  upon  an  instrument 
from  the  printed  notes,  but  the  mere  pernsal  of  these 
notes  will  provoke  a  harmony  in  the  mind  of  the  musical 
reader.  A  musical  education  that  should  proceed  on  the 
theory  held  by  Condillac  and  Spencer  would  be  a  very 
curious  affair. 

The  importance  of  reaching  right  conclusions  on  tho 
nature  of  knowledge  and  of  the  knowing  process  be- 
comes evident  wlien  we  consider  the  fact  that  attempts 
are  being  made  to  conduct  schools  on  the  new  hypothesis, 
and  at  the  same  time  there  is  a  loud  impeachment  O^f  the 
education  that  is  conducted  on  the  older  hypothesis.  The 
mistakes  that  are  made  in  practice  by  thoughtful  men 
inevitably  have  their  source  in  theoretical  errors. 

The  latest  educational  philosophy  as  to  the  office  of 
books  is  exhibited  in  the  following  quotation  :  "  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  books  contain  the  treasured  wisdom 
of  the  past,  and  that  there  can  be  no  progress  among 
men  unless  each  generation  in  its  turn  builds  on  the 
structures  of  those  who  have  built  before.  Wisdom  ex- 
ists nowhere  outside  of  some  mind  that  is  wise.  It  is 
not  a  thing  to  be  transmitted  as  material  wealth  is  trans- 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  TUE  KACE.  09 

mitted.  Every  man  who  becomes  wise  must  make  him- 
self wise  by  the  activity  of  his  own  mental  powers,  and 
when  he  dies  his  wisdom  must  go  with  him.  It  is  true 
that  if  he  is  fortunate  enough  he  may  leave  some  ex- 
pressions of  his  wisdom  behind,  but  these  expressions  are 
to  be  interpreted,  and  they  can  be  interpreted,  by  those 
only  who  are  able  to  think  the  same  thoughts  and  to 
know  the  same  knowledge  by  an  independent  activity  of 
their  own  minds."  * 

The  truth,  as  I  understand  it,  is  expressed  in  the  fol- 
lowing quotations  from  Dr.  Reid  and  Dugald  Stewart : 
"  General  propositions  in  science  may  be  compared  to 
the  seed  of  a  plant,  which,  according  to  some  philoso- 
phers, has  not  only  the  whole  future  plant  involved 
within  it,  but  the  seeds  of  that  plant,  and  the  plants 
that  shall  spring  from  them  through  all  future  genera- 
tions. 

"  But  the  similitude  falls  short  in  this  respect,  that  time 
and  accidents,  not  in  our  power,  must  concur  to  disclose 
the  contents  of  the  seed,  and  bring  them  into  our  view; 
whereas  the  contents  of  a  general  proposition  may  be 
brought  forth,  ripened,  and  exposed  to  view  at  our  pleas- 
ure, and  in  an  instant. 

"  Thus  the  wisdom  of  ages,  and  the  most  sublime  treas- 
ures of  science,  may  be  laid  up,  like  an  Iliad,  in  a  nutshell, 
and  transmitted  to  future  generations.  And  this  noble 
purpose  of  language  can  only  be  accomplished  by  means 
of  general  words  annexed  to  the  divisions  and  subdi- 
visions of  things."  f 

"  The  foundation  of  all  human  knowledge  must  be  laid 
in  the  examination  of  particular  objects  and  particular 

*  John  W.  Dickinson,  op.  cit.,  p.  17. 
t  Thomas  Reid,  op.  cit.,  p.  319. 


100  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

facts;  and  it  is  only  so  far  as  our  general  principles  are 
resolvable  into  these  primary  elements  that  they  possess 
cither  truth  or  utility.  It  must  not,  however,  be  under- 
stood to  be  implied  in  this  conclusion  that  all  our  knowl- 
edge must  ultimately  rest  on  our  own  proper  experience. 
If  this  were  the  case,  the  progress  of  science,  and  the 
progress  of  human  improvement,  must  have  been  won- 
derfully retarded  ;  for,  if  it  had  been  necessary  for  each 
individual  to  form  a  classification  of  objects,  in  conse- 
quence of  observations  and  abstractions  of  his  own,  and 
to  infer  from  the  actual  examination  of  particular  facts 
the  general  truths  on  which  his  conduct  proceeds,  hu- 
man affairs  would  at  this  day  remain  nearly  in  the  same 
state  to  which  they  were  brought  by  the  experience  of 
the  first  generation. 

******* 

"In  a  cultivated  society,  one  of  the  first  acquisitions 
which  children  make  is  the  use  of  language ;  by  means 
of  which  they  are  familiarized  from  their  earliest  years 
to  the  consideration  of  classes  of  objects  and  of  general 
truths ;  and,  before  the  time  of  life  at  which  the  savage 
is  possessed  of  the  knowledge  necessary  for  his  own  pres- 
ervation, are  enabled  to  appropriate  to  themselves  the 
accumulated  discoveries  of  ages. 

******* 

"  Indeed,  among  those  who  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
early  instruction,  some  of  the  most  remote  and  wonder- 
ful conclusions  of  the  liuman  intellect  are,  even  in  in- 
fancy, as  completely  familiarized  to  the  mind  as  the  most 
obvious  phenomena  which  the  material  world  exhibits  to 
their  senses."  * 

*  Dugald  Stewart,  op.  cit.,  pp.  116, 117, 


THE  GENESIS  OF  KNOWLEDGE  IN  TUE  RACE.         101 

This  thouglit  has  been  more  concisely  expressed  bj 
J.  S.  Mill :  "  Language  is  the  depository  of  the  accumu- 
lated experience  to  which  all  former  ages  have  contrib- 
uted, and  which  is  the  inheritance  of  all  yet  to  come."* 

*  "  Logic,"  p.  413. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
*rHE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS. 

Whatever  special  interest  attaches  itself  to  this  therao 
is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  men  of  equal  honesty 
and  earnestness  are  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the  normal 
mode  of  educational  progress,  and  more  particularly  as 
to  the  present  status  of  the  teaching  art.  On  one  side 
the  claim  has  been  set  up  that  the  whole  existing  order 
of  things  in  education,  at  least  on  its  practical  side,  is  al- 
most hopelessly  bad  ;  and  that  the  case  is  so  desperate  as 
to  justify  an  immediate  revolution.  When  it  is  inquired 
what  the  new  order  of  things  is  to  be,  what  its  marks 
are,  what  it  is  like,  it  is  stated  in  reply  that  it  is  impossi- 
ble to  give  any  exact  definition  of  the  new  era,  but  that 
its  coming  is  imminent,  and  that  when  it  does  come  it 
will  be  a  very  glorious  thing.  The  conception  seems  to 
be  that  there  is  to  occur  a  rather  sudden  winding  up  of 
the  present  order  of  things,  and  that  the  educational  mil- 
lennium is  immediately  to  follow,  with  somewhat  of  the 
suddenness  of  an  earthquake  shock.  Some  confusion  at- 
tends this  conception,  from  the  declaration  that  the  "  new 
education  "  has  had  a  real  existence  from  very  remote 
times,  and  that  all  the  great  names  in  educational  history 
from  Socrates  downwards  have  been  prophets  of  the  new 
gospel.  This  paradox  will  disappear,  we  may  presume, 
by  assuming  that  the  voices  of  these  great  men  were  un- 
heeded, that  their  doctrines  had  no  appreciable  effect  on 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  103 

the  current  of  educational  thought,  and  that  their  inter- 
preters have  onlj  just  appeared.* 

Opposed  to  this  glowing  assumption  of  an  approach- 
ing millennium  in  educational  practice,  there  is  the  con- 
viction on  the  part  of  very  many  that  the  dissolution  of 
the  existing  order  of  things  is  not  imminent;  that  thus 
far  the  history  of  education  has  shown  only  continuity 
of  growth ;  that  the  future  is  doubtless  to  exhibit  a  con- 
tinuous series  of  changes  for  the  better ;  but  that  this 
better  future  is  to  be  an  evolution  out  of  a  good  past. 
These  men  believe  that  the  main  lines  of  educational 
theory  have  been  pretty  firmly  and  correctly  established, 
and  that  the  most  hopeful  and  fruitful  field  of  effort  is 
that  of  extending  and  co-ordinating  these  lines  of  think- 
ing. It  is  believed  to  be  unwise  and  unnecessary  to 
break  with  the  past ;  that  not  only  is  substantial  progress 

*  "  No  one  can  tell  what  the  so-called  New  Education  really  is, 
from  the  very  fact  that  many  if  not  most  of  its  principles  and  re- 
sulting methods  have  yet  to  be  discovered.  We  stand  on  the  bor- 
der-land of  discovery  in  education. 

"  If  it  is  impossible  to  pi'jsent  any  adequate  idea  of  the  New  Edu- 
cation, the  position  of  its  disciples  may  be  easily  defined.  They  he- 
lieve  that  there  is  an  immense  margin  between  the  known  and  the  un- 
known in  education.  The  unbelievers,  on  the  other  hand,  hold  that, 
with  some  possible  exceptions,  the  march  of  progress  in  education 
has  closed  with  them. 

"  The  followers  of  the  Nev/  Education  count  in  their  ranks  every 
great  thinker  and  writer  upon  education  from  Socrates  to  Horace 
Mann. . .  . 

"  The  stationary  followers  of  the  Old  Education  have  an  ideal  they 
can  easily  reach,  and,  having  done  so,  tlie  smile  of  perfect  pedantic 
satisfaction  freezes  up  on  their  faces,  a  striking  manifestation  of 
the  utter  complacency  to  be  found  in  limited  ideals."'  —  From 
Francis  W.  Parker's  preface  to  the  American  edition  of  Tate's 
"  Philosophy  of  Education,"  pp.  v.,  vi. 


104  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

entirely  compatible  with  the  conservative  tendency,  but 
that  any  other  mode  of  progress  is  an  illusion,  full  of 
danger. 

"We  thus  have  two  schools  of  educational  thinkers,  so 
sharply  defined  as  to  be  in  some  sort  antagonistic.  It  is 
charged  against  the  leaders  of  the  so-called  reform  party 
that  they  claim  a  proprietary  right  in  the  rubric  "  New 
Education  "  as  a  sort  of  trade-mark,  and  that  their  enthu- 
siasm has  a  certain  commercial  aspect  that  is  not  prepos- 
sessing. Per  contra^  it  is  alleged  that  the  representative 
adherents  of  the  status  quo  are  blind  leaders  of  the  blind  ; 
that,  conscious  of  their  inability  to  endure  the  light  of 
the  coming  glory,  they  would  protract  the  era  of  dark- 
ness ;  and  that  when  they  do  not  speak  reverently  of  the 
"  New  Education,"  they  are  moved  by  envy. 

These  rivalries,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  not  altogether 
pleasant ;  but  let  us  find  some  consolation  and  even  en- 
couragement in  the  fact  that  we  are  now  fairly  entering 
upon  the  second  of  the  three  stages  of  opinion  noted  by 
Mr.  Spencer*  as  "  the  unanimity  of  the  ignorant,  the  dis- 
agreement of  the  inquiring,  and  the  unanimity  of  the 
wise."  If  we  are  ever  to  attain  to  this  third  state, "  the 
unanimity  of  the  wise,"  we  must  needs  pass  through  this 
intermediate  state  of  disagreement.  "  It  is  sometimes 
necessary  to  fight,"  says  Aristotle, "  but  all  to  the  end 
that  we  may  have  peace."  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom, 
doubtless,  to  abridge  as  much  as  possible  this  necessary 
period  of  dissent,  and  it  is  this  thought  that  dictates  tho 
matter  and  the  method  of  this  discussion. 

As  a  constitutional  aid  towards  harmonizing  these  two 
conflicting  phases  of  opinion  that  have  been  noted,  let 

•  "Education,"  p.  101. 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  105 

ti8  bear  in  mind  that  tins  divergence  of  opinion  is  due, 
in  part,  at  least,  to  differences  in  mental  constitntion. 
Tliere  are  bnt  few  minds  in  which  the  reflective  and  the 
emotional  elements  are  in  a  state  of  equipoise ;  and  a 
marked  preponderance  of  either  element  entails  a  weak- 
ness of  disproportion.  An  excess  of  feeling  leads  to  great 
energy  of  movement,  but  it  is  usually  accompanied  by  a 
marked  defect  in  the  power  of  clear  insight;  there  is 
superabundant  force,  but  it  is  ever  prone  to  play  antics 
through  lack  of  rational  direction.  On  the  other  hand, 
disproportion  on  the  side  of  the  reflective  habit  almost 
inevitably  entails  some  slowness  of  motion  and  an  indis- 
position to  move  out  of  beaten  tracks.*  Here  we  have 
an  instance  of  a  very  common  form  of  the  division  of 
labor.  But  few  men,  it  seems,  are  constructed  on  so 
catholic  a  plan  that  they  embody  at  once  great  motive 
power  and  superior  ability  in  the  line  of  clear  thinking. 
In  my  boyhood  I  recollect  it  was  a  question  of  serious 
debate  whether  it  was  the  ball  or  the  powder  that  killed 
the  bird ;  and  we  find  men  stoutly  affirming,  some,  that 
the  world  is  moved  and  governed  by  ideas,  and  others, 
that  sentiment  is  the  universal  motor.  I  now  incline  to 
the  opinion  that  it  requires  the  joint  effect  of  powder 
and  ball  to  kill  the  bird.  Lest  I  lose  myself  in  what 
may  prove  to  be  a  digression,  let  me  make  haste  to  say 
that  in  educational  reform  the  thinker  and  the  enthusiast 
both  liave  their  uses,  and  that  neither  should  feel  a  con- 
tempt for  the  endowment  he  does  not  chance  to  have. 
A  man  who  does  a  good  quality  of  thinking  may  count 

*  "  Reflective  men  do  not  change ;  they  become  transformed. 
Ardent  men,  on  the  contrary,  change ;  they  are  not  transformed." 
— Renan, "  Lcs  Ap6tres,"  p.  183. 


lOu  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

himself  a  useful  member  of  the  profession,  for  his  ideas, 
sooner  or  later,  will  be  put  in  motion  by  some  one  who 
has  a  surplus  endowment  of  sentiment.  The  great  dan- 
ger of  the  man  overstocked  with  sentiment  is  that  he  is 
often  indiscriminating  in  the  selection  of  ideas  which  he 
is  to  convert  into  mobiles.  Rousseau  put  some  very  fine 
and  hence  very  powerful  sentiment  back  of  some  very 
foolish  and  even  very  false  ideas ;  and  though  a  century 
has  passed  since  his  day,  these  false  notions  are  still  mov- 
ing briskly  on  their  errands  of  mischief.  At  this  point, 
loyalty  to  the  law  of  the  division  of  labor  is  the  saving 
clause. 

I  now  turn  to  the  main  purpose  of  this  chapter,  which 
is  to  discuss  the  normal  mode  of  progress  in  education, 
to  trace  the  main  lines  of  educational  thouglit  thus  far, 
and  to  determine,  with  some  degree  of  probability,  what 
may  be  expected  of  the  future. 

The  law  of  progress  has  already  been  stated  in  these 
terms  :  inheritance  supplemented  hy  individual  acquisi- 
tion. We  shall  best  conceive  the  mode  of  progress  in 
general  if  we  think  of  the  human  race  as  composed  of  a 
scries  or  succession  of  generations,  each  of  which  re- 
ceives from  its  predecessor  the  net  results  of  its  toils  and 
thought,  adds  to  this  inheritance  the  fruits  of  its  own 
industry  and  economy,  and  finally  transmits  the  aggre- 
gate to  its  successor.  The  labor  of  these  successive  gen- 
erations is  not  the  labor  of  Sisyphus,  but  each  starts  on 
the  upward  march  at  the  point  where  its  predecessor 
stopped,  and  thence  lifts  the  weight  to  a  still  higher  level. 

Let  it  be  noted  that  no  individual  can  renounce  the 
inheritance  into  which  he  is  born.  That  relapse  to  a 
state  of  nature  which  Rousseau  and  his  disciples  so  ar- 
dently and  so  eloquently  long  for  is  a  thing  not  only 


THE   MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  107 

impossible,  but  even  inconceivable.  What  are  some  of 
the  items  of  this  inalienable  inheritance  ?  A  purified  at- 
mosphere, protection  to  life  and  property,  a  longer  aver- 
age term  of  life,  the  division  of  labor,  means  of  rapid 
communication,  language,  with  its  ready-made  distinc- 
tions and  classifications,  and,  subtler  still,  enlarged  ca- 
pacities of  mental  insight  and  acquisition,  and  innate 
predispositions  amounting  to  inherited  habits.  Who 
can  refuse  such  legacies,  if  he  would?  Who  is  there 
that  would  renounce  them,  if  he  could  ?  Who  can  abide 
the  philosophy  that  recommends  a  perennial  relapse 
towards  barbarism  ? 

One  element  of  this  inheritance  has  such  a  direct  and 
important  bearing  on  the  main  question  in  this  discus- 
sion that  I  must  give  it  a  moment's  notice.  Language, 
with  its  ready-made  abstractions,  generalizations,  and  dis- 
tinctions, is  just  as  truly  a  part  of  the  child's  natural 
environment  as  climate,  atmosphere,  soil,  and  landscape; 
and  the  truths  formulated  in  language  are  objects  of 
study  just  as  natural  and  legitimate  as  plants  and  rocks 
and  animals;  and,  still  more,  speaking  generally,  these 
formulated  truths  are  just  as  easy  of  apprehension  as  the 
physical  phenomena  that  constitute  a  part  of  the  child's 
environment.  The  apprehension  of  formulated  truth 
commences  the  moment  the  child  begins  to  interpret  lan- 
guage, and  ^VQCQQdiS,,  pari  passu,  with  his  apprehension 
of  physical  phenomena.  I  know  nothing  more  unfound- 
ed in  fact  and  philosophy  than  the  current  assumption  that 
it  is  easier  for  a  child  to  apprehend  thunder  and  rain,  or 
even  flowers  and  butterflies,  than  the  bits  of  household 
wisdom  that  penetrate  his  mind  through  the  medium  of 
language.  If  it  is  so  easy  and  natural  for  the  mind  to 
analyze  and  comprehend  concrete  presentations,  how  are 


108  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

we  to  account  for  the  slow  progress  of  physical  science? 
If  it  is  so  very  difficult  to  comprehend  abstract  truths, 
how  are  wo  to  account  for  the  early  cultivation  of  grain- 
luar,  mathematics,  and  ethics?  For  the  farmer,  the  per- 
fected reaper  and  tlie  formulated  truths  of  agricultural 
chemistry  are  all  simple  facts  of  inheritance ;  and  he  may 
as  reasonably  be  required  to  reinvent  the  reaper  as  to  re- 
discover the  science.  In  both  cases  the  obligation  is  to 
accept,  to  use,  and,  if  possible,  to  improve.  There  is  no 
more  obligation  to  repeat  t])e  experiences  of  the  race  in 
alchemy  and  astrology  than  in  the  use  of  the  sickle  and 
the  cradle. 

Of  individual  acquisitions,  or  the  second  element  in 
progress,  four  tilings  are  to  be  noted :  (1)  If  the  major 
and  mighty  task  of  each  generation  is  rediscovery,  the 
opportunity  for  discovery  is  made  almost  infinitely  small ; 
(2)  the  prerequisite  to  invention,  improvement,  and  re- 
forms is  a  knowledge  of  what  has  come  to  us  in  the  way 
of  inheritance ;  (3)  to  only  a  few  men  in  a  century  is  it 
granted  to  make  absolute  additions  to  the  world's  stock 
of  knowledge ;  (4)  for  the  most  part,  the  task  of  the 
thinker  is  to  extend  old  lines  of  thinking,  to  detect  in 
established  general  truths  their  more  occult  implications, 
and  to  collate  and  co-ordinate  the  diyecia  membra  of 
possible  systems  of  truth. 

If  one  is  to  set  up  as  an  innovator,  or  even  as  a  reform- 
er, he  has  no  claim  to  a  moment's  consideration  unless  he 
has  ascertained  what  has  already  been  done  in  his  pro- 
posed line  of  improvement,  and  has  also  mastered  the 
general  principles  on  which  his  invention  rests.  I  shall 
not  soon  forget  the  loss  of  time  and  patience  entailed  by 
the  persistence  of  an  enthusiastic  youth  who  had  invent- 
ed a  machine  that  would  surely  run  till  it  was  worn  out. 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  109 

He  had  all  the  positivcness  and  intolerance  of  ignorance. 
A  month's  study  of  mechanics,  or,  perhaps,  a  daj's  visit 
to  one  of  the  museums  of  the  Patent  Office,  would  have 
saved  him  from  the  mortification  of  failure  and  from  the 
loss  of  his  patrimony ;  but  his  ignorance  made  him  the 
easy  victim  of  his  glowing  enthusiasm.  At  the  present 
rate  of  acquaintance  with  the  history  and  the  science  of 
education,  it  is  still  possible,  as  the  record  shows,  to  in- 
vent school  supervision  and  the  word-method  of  teaching 
children  to  read. 

"Great  minds,"  says  Richter,  "speak  to  us  from  the 
vantage-ground  of  centuries."  The  immortality  of  cer- 
tain books  lies  in  the  fact  that  they  anticipate  the  think- 
ing of  a  remote  future.  They  trace  in  faint  outline  the 
course  which  human  thought  is  to  traverse  through  the 
coming  centuries,  and  all  subsequent  thinking  is  but  the 
fulfilment  of  these  ancient  prophecies.  I  am  sure  I  do 
not  overstate  the  fact  when  I  say  that  the  best  thought 
of  the  best  thinkers,  through  all  the  past  centuries,  has 
been  devoted,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  the  problems  of 
education,  and  that  there  is  not  a  single  phase  of  this 
problem  which  has  not  been  subjected  to  the  test  of  ex- 
perience. The  Bibles  of  all  ancient  peoples  have  been 
text-books  for  ethical  instruction,  and  contain,  by  impli- 
cation, a  body  of  educational  doctrine.  I  believe  it  to 
be  a  comparatively  easy  task,  by  a  process  of  legitimate 
interpretation,  to  construct  a  sound  and  sufficient  body 
of  educational  truth  from  the  Cliristian  Scriptures.  Soc- 
rates, Plato,  and  Aristotle,  while  writing  on  ethics  and 
politics,  were  compelled  to  discuss  the  question  of  edu- 
cation, and  their  statements  were  so  comprehensive  that 
they  anticipated  many  of  our  modern  theories  and  meth- 
ods.    In  making  these  statements,  the  truth  I  am  trying 


110  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

to  impress  is  this:  there  is  no  probability  "whatever  that 
there  is  to  be  such  a  sadden  and  glorious  dawn  of  discov- 
ery as  the  "New  Education"  presumes  to  advertise. 

M.  Compayrd  has,  with  rare  critical  insight,  made  a 
masterly  survey  of  the  history  of  educational  doctrines 
and  methods,  and  I  borrow  this  quotation  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  position  just  taken  :  "  The  desirable  thing  just 
now  is  not  so  much  to  find  new  ideas  as  properly  to  com- 
prehend those  which  are  already  current ;  to  choose  from 
among  them,  and,  a  choice  once  having  been  made,  to 
make  a  resolute  effort  to  apply  them  to  use.  When  wo 
consider  with  impartiality  all  that  has  been  conceived  or 
practised  previous  to  the  nineteenth  century,  or  when 
we  see  clearly  what  our  predecessors  have  left  ns  to  do 
in  the  way  of  consequences  to  deduce,  of  incomplete  or 
obscure  ideas  to  generalize  or  to  illustrate,  and,  especially, 
of  opposing  tendencies  to  reconcile,  we  may  well  inquire 
what  they  have  really  left  us  to  discover.  ...  In  truth, 
for  him  who  has  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  educators  of 
past  centuries,  the  work  of  constructing  a  system  of  edu- 
cation is  more  than  half  done.  It  remains  only  to  co- 
ordinate the  scattered  truths  which  havtj  been  collected 
from  their  works,  by  assimilating  them  through  personal 
reflection,  and  by  making  them  fruitful  through  psycho- 
logical analysis  and  moral  faith."  * 

One  element  in  human  nature  is  an  upward  tendency 
in  the  line  of  growth ;  and  civilization  is  but  the  actual 
outcome  of  this  instinct  on  a  vast  scale.  The  growth  of 
an  individual  in  stature  and  the  growth  of  the  race  in 
knowledge  and  refinement  are  analogous  facts.  In  both 
cases  growth  is  predetermined  ;  it  is  a  law  binding  on  the 
individual  and  on  the  race  as  a  whole.  Much  light  will 
*  Compayrg,  op.  cit.,  pp.  xviii.,  xix. 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  Ill 

be  thrown  on  these  "great  expectations"  by  observing 
the  actual  modes  of  growth  which  constitute  progress. 
"Progress,-'  says  the  " Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic,"  "is 
not  a  force  that  acts  spasmodically,  but  is  a  logical  and 
graduated  evohition,  in  which  the  idea  of  to-day  is  con- 
nected with  that  of  yesterday,  as  the  latter  is  to  a  still 
more  remote  past."  *  This  is  a  fair  statement  of  the 
ideal  mode  of  progress,  but  the  historical  or  actual  mode 
is  very  different.  Instead  of  continuity,  symmetry,  and 
moderation,  the  outgrowths  of  reason  and  reflection,  wo 
see  the  overwrought,  the  unsymraetrical,  and  the  spas- 
modic, the  result  of  impulse  and  sentiment.  A  strong 
feeling  starts  a  movement,  the  rising  fervor  gives  it  a 
growing  momentum,  and  then  it  proceeds  quite  inde- 
pendent of  rhythm,  rhyme,  or  reason.  But,  finally,  a 
counter  sentiment  is  engendered,  a  recoil  movement  is 
begun,  and  the  old  exaggeration  gives  place  to  a  new 
one.f  A  common  characteristic  of  these  impulsive  move- 
ments is  that  they  are  blind.  Not  only  is  the  objective 
point  seen  as  through  a  sunset-mist,  but  this  point  is  not 
discerned  in  relation  to  others  of  co-ordinate  rank,  and 
most  often  no  others  are  seen  at  all.  The  mind  of  the 
enthusiast  is  lacking  both  in  clearness  and  perspective; 
it  seems  that  the  very  condition  of  feeling  intensely  is 
to  see  obscurely,  or,  at  least,  confusedly.  The  mind  that 
does  not  discriminate  cannot  deliberate.  It  is  usually 
asserted  that  the  normal  stimulant  to  activity  is  a  feel- 
ing either  of  pleasure  or  of  pain.  It  would  be  better  to 
call  this  the  natural  stimulant.     The  animal,  so  far  as 

♦  ujere  Partie,"  p.  1436. 

t "  The  suppression  of  every  error  is  commonly  followed  by  a 
temporary  ascendency  of  tlic  contrary  one." — Spencer, "  Education," 
p.  102. 


113  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

we  know,  is  moved  to  activity  only  by  some  strong  feel- 
ing, and  the  same  thing  is  true  of  the  savage  and  the  in- 
fant; but  the  chief  ingredient  in  the  motive  that  governs 
the  sage  is  intellectual.  With  reference  to  civilized  man, 
motive  is  composed  of  two  elements,  thought  and  feel- 
ing ;  and,  in  the  ascent  towards  the  highest  type  of  de- 
velopment, the  thought  element  attains  a  rising  domina- 
tion, while  the  element  of  mere  feeling  loses  its  domina- 
tion in  the  same  ratio.*  This  statement  refers  to  the 
man  as  determining  his  own  conduct.  When  his  pur- 
pose is  to  determine  the  conduct  of  others,  he  will  appeal 
to  the  element  that  is  supposed  to  have  the  greater  dom- 
ination ;  to  feeling,  if  he  is  addressing  a  mob,  but  to  the 
intellect,  if  he  is  addressing  men  capable  of  deliberation. 
Now  the  truth  I  wish  to  insist  on  is  this  :  if  progress  is 
to  be  continuous,  symmetrical,  and  sure,  it  must  be  based 
on  motives  of  the  reflective  type.f     The  men  who  direct 

*  "  Motives  are  the  intellectual  reasons  ■which  cause  us  to  act  in 
such  or  such  a  manner,  such  as  thoughts,  considerations  of  the 
mind.  Mobiles,  on  the  contrary,  are  movements  of  the  heart,  the 
affections,  the  passions.  For  example,  maternal  love  is  a  mobile, 
but  the  calculations  of  interest  and  the  considerations  of  dignity 
are  motives." — Marion,  op.  cit.,  p.  127. 

t  "  We  do  not  desire  to  create  mere  enthusiasts.  Undirected  and 
uncontrolled  enthusiasm  burns  out,  and  leaves  only  ashes  behind. 
The  genuine  enthusiast  always  subjects  himself  to  law  if  his  work 
is  to  be  effective  and  permanent.  The  fiery  heat  of  the  sun  itself 
attains  its  ends  in  the  domain  of  nature  by  working  according  to 
the  law  of  each  kind.  Where  it  does  not  do  this  it  destroys.  So 
with  the  fire  of  the  educational  enthusiast.  We  desire  to  see  the 
ardor  of  the  youthful  schoolmaster  so  founded  on  principle  and 
controlled  by  intellectual  purpose  that  it  will  last  a  lifetime ;  and 
this  is  possible  only  by  timely  subjection  to  the  order  and  law  which 
philosophy  alone  can  give." — Laurie,  "  The  Training  of  Teachers  " 
(London,  1882),  p.  68. 


THE  MODE   OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  113 

such  progress  ranst  discern  clearly,  and  must  then  appeal 
to  the  discernment  of  others.  While  saying  this,  I  am 
distinctly  conscious  that,  in  dealing  with  men,  we  must 
take  them  as  they  are ;  that  if  we  are  to  move  them,  we 
must  appeal  to  the  motive  that  is  in  the  ascendant,  and 
must  use  that  form  of  power  which  we  chance  to  possess. 
My  purpose  is  to  point  out  the  evil  consequences  of  ad- 
dressing the  feelings  rather  than  the  reason,  and  to  indi- 
cate the  desirableness  of  walking  by  the  light  of  reason 
rather  than  by  the  ignis  fatuus  of  feeling.  Most  reforms 
are,  doubtless,  of  emotional  origin,  but  their  final  support 
is  reason ;  they  are  saved  by  the  potency  of  ideas.  It 
were  better,  it  seems  to  me,  if  reforms  were  to  have  their 
origin,  continuance,  and  consummation  in  reason.  As 
we  listen  to  the  fervid  exhortations  of  the  reformer,  we 
may  have  almost  absolute  assurance  of  three  things:  (1) 
He  is  leading  us  away  from  some  substantial  truth  that 
has  been  allowed  to  trespass  on  other  and  related  truths ; 

(2)  he  is  leading  us  towards  another  truth  which  is  great- 
ly exaggerated  because  seen  through  the  mists  of  feeling ; 

(3)  these  promises  must  be  subjected  to  the  reductions 
of  reflection  and  cool  common-sense  before  they  can  have 
a  substantial  value.  If  any  proof  were  needed  of  the 
sheer  extravagances  of  the  educational  reformer,  it  might 
be  found  in  such  declarations  as  these :  "  I  have  turned 
the  European  car  of  progress  quite  round,"  said  Pesta- 
lozzi,  "and  have  set  it  going  in  a  new  direction."  How 
charming  is  such  simplicity  and  assurance!  The  course 
of  European  civilization  had  been  wholly  wrong  till  Pes- 
talozzi's  day,  and  he,  in  his  own  might,  had  reversed  the 
march  of  that  civilization  !  The  philosophers,  moralists, 
teachers,  and  statesmen,  previous  to  his  time,  had  been 


114  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

radically  wrong.  In  the  falness  of  time  he  had  come  to 
set  the  world  right ! 

Rousseau's  favorite  injunction  was:  "Take  the  road 
directly  opposite  to  that  which  is  in  use,  and  yon  will 
almost  always  do  right."  Here  the  presumption  is  the 
same  as  before;  the  world  had  fallen  into  a  very  bad 
way.  Rousseau  was  the  first  one  to  discover  the  fact,  or, 
at  least,  the  first  who  had  the  wisdom  to  point  out  the 
right  way !  I  maintain  that  the  mind  which  can  believe 
that  the  whole  existing  order  of  things  is  wrong,  and 
would  counsel  a  revolution  in  favor  of  his  own  ideas,  is 
essentially  unsound  and  untrustworthy ;  for  it  is  not  even 
conceivable  that  a  line  of  policy  which  has  had  the  long 
sanction  of  the  wise  and  good  is  wholly  or  ev^en  mainly 
wrong.  It  is  only  presumption  and  ignorance  and  un- 
bridled sentiment  that  can  go  to  such  lengths. 

A  Greek  proverb  says  that  "a  mob  has  no  brains," 
and  we  shall  form  no  mean  conception  of  education  if 
we  define  its  purpose  to  be  the  disintegration  of  mobs ; 
the  thought  being  that  each  individual  should  have  a 
brain  of  his  own,  to  the  end  that  he  may  reason  and  re- 
flect and  so  be  in  a  condition  to  act  for  himself,  instead 
of  moving  with  the  herd  at  the  dictation  of  a  self-con- 
stituted leader.  It  seems  to  me  discreditable  to  the 
teaching  class  that  educational  epidemics  are  so  easy  to 
start,  that  they  occur  so  often,  and  that  their  victims  are 
so  numerous.  In  these  phenomena  there  is  something 
of  the  regularity  of  law.  We  cannot,  indeed,  predict 
what  the  next  craze  will  be,  but  we  may  be  sure  that  a 
new  one  will  follow  the  termination  of  the  one  now  in 
progress,  that  it  will  leave  many  remainders  of  debility 
and  some  of  strength,  and  that  those  who  survive  the  dis- 
temper will  marvel  at  their  credulousness.    AVhat  I  aim 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  115 

at  saying  is  that  this  prevalence  of  liobbies  bespeaks  un- 
soundness in  the  body  of  the  teaching  profession,  and 
that  the  only  radical  cure  for  this  intellectual  distemper 
is  the  habit  of  treating  educational  questions  with  judicial 
calmness  and  fairness. 

In  the  next  place,  the  course  of  my  argument  leads  me 
to  notice  the  main  phases  of  the  educational  problem 
that  have  been  developed  by  the  thinkers  of  the  past,  to 
the  end  that  we  may  form  some  reasonable  conjecture 
as  to  the  probability  of  lighting  on  essentially  new  phases 
of  the  problem.  If  but  little  has  been  discovered,  the 
field  of  exploration  is  large  and  full  of  promise;  but  if 
the  process  of  discovery  has  been  long -continued  and 
thorough,  if  the  discoverers  themselves  have  been  men 
of  pre-eminent  ability,  and  if  this  exploration  has  been 
in  any  sense  complete,  then  the  hope  of  a  new  era  in 
education  is  visionary.  If  a  seafaring  man  were  to  at- 
tempt to  enlist  adventurers  for  the  discovery  of  a  new 
continent  in  the  Pacific,  no  matter  how  fervid  his  elo- 
quence, or  how  boisterous  his  appeals,  he  would  find  no 
following  among  the  well-informed.  The  continents 
have  been  discovered ;  it  only  remains  to  occupy  them 
and  to  improve  them. 

To  make  this  inquiry  eminently  fair,  let  us  consider 
education  in  its  most  comprehensive  sense,  and  define  its 
purpose  to  be  to  fit  the  human  being  for  complete  living. 
For  a  man  to  live  completely  is  to  fulfill  perfectly  all 
the  functions  that  can  reasonably  be  demanded  of  him. 
A  man  owes  duties  to  himself,  to  his  family,  to  society, 
to  the  state,  to  the  race,  and  to  his  Creator;  and  to  fulfil 
these  duties  he  needs  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral 
power,  and  instrumental  knowledge  adapted  to  the  re- 
quirements of  each  class  of  demands.    We  may  simplify 


116  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

this  statement  by  saying  tliat  the  ideal  education  requires 
tlie  most  complete  dcveloptnent  of  the  body  and  of  the 
mind,  liberal  supplies  of  knowledge  for  use,  and,  finally, 
a  concentration  of  these  powers  on  specific  lines  of  ac- 
tivity. We  now  wish  to  know  "what  phases  of  this  com- 
plex problem  the  education  of  the  past  has  left  untouched, 
so  that  we  may  discover  what  remains  for  the  "  New  Edu- 
cation "  to  undertake.  Tlie  problem  of  physical  training 
was  solved  in  ancient  Greece,  and  so  perfectly  that  any 
improvement  on  it  is  manifestly  hopeless.  All  that 
moderns  can  do  is  to  imitate  it.  Specific  physical  train- 
ing in  the  line  of  handicrafts  and  trades  was  a  prominent 
element  in  the  education  of  the  ancient  Jews.  Sparta 
and  Rome  educated  their  citizens  for  military  service. 
The  highest  conceivable  type  of  intellectual  training,  the 
purpose  of  which  was  to  make  the  mind  the  perfect  in- 
strument of  thought,  was  methodically  discussed  by  Plato, 
and  exemplified  by  Socrates.  The  commercial  value  of 
knowledge  was  emphasized  by  the  Phoenicians  and  the 
Egyptians.  Education  for  the  civil  service  was  and  now 
is  the  hobby  of  the  Chinese.  Education  in  view  of  the 
future  life  was  the  preoccupation  of  the  ancient  Jews; 
and  ethical  training  was  a  characteristic  of  all  ancient 
systems  of  education.  Education  for  culture  was  exem- 
plified in  Greece,  and  education  for  practical  ends  in 
Kome;  and  those  two  lines  of  thought  are  now  running 
side  by  side  in  every  college  and  even  in  every  high- 
school.  We  see  compulsory  education  in  fact  among 
the  Jews,  and  in  theory  in  Plato's  "Republic."  The 
duty  of  the  state  to  administer  education  was  emphatically 
declared  by  Aristotle;  it  was  to  be  public,  and  common 
to  all.  Twenty-three  centuries  before  the  "New  De- 
parture in  the  Common  Schools  of  Quincy,"  the  appoint- 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  117 

ment  of  a  superintendent  of  schools  was  recommended 
by  Aristotle.* 

Object-teaching  is  as  old  as  the  burning  bush  and 
brazen  serpent,  and  the  highest  type  of  it  was  exemplified 
in  the  teaching  of  Christ.  The  instruction  of  children 
by  means  of  games  was  known  and  practised  by  the  an- 
cient Egyptians.  Paul  knew  and  stated  the  characteristic 
difference  between  the  child  and  man  as  to  the  compre- 
hension of  truth.  The  doctrine  that  true  education  is 
a  process  of  unfolding  from  within  outwards,  that  science 
cannot  be  taught,  but  only  drawn  out,  was  taught  and 
practised  by  Socrates.  The  conception  of  education  as  a 
growth  is  embodied  in  David's  First  Psalm,  and  appears 
and  reappears  throughout  the  ITew  Testament.  The 
instrumental  value  of  knowledge  has  never  been  more 
forcibly  expressed  than  by  the  author  of  Ecclesiastes.f 
Oral  instruction  versus  text-book  instruction  was  a  con- 
troverted question  in  Plato's  time ;  and  in  his  decision, 
Plato  was  as  profoundly  wrong  as  some  moderns  who 
have  decided  the  question.:}:  This  statement  falls  far 
short  of  a  catalogue  raisonne  such  as  might  be  made 
without  great  labor;  but  though  it  is  restricted  to  the 
ancient  period,  I  submit  that  it  establishes  a  very  strong 
improbability  that  any  startling  truth,  such  as  the  "New 
Education"  promises,  remains  to  be  discovered;  and  this 
improbability  becomes  almost  absolute  when  we  include 
the  developments  of  educational  doctrine  that  have  been 
made  during  the  last  eighteen  Christian  centuries.  In 
general,  I  despise  alliterations,  and  particularly  when  they 
are  invented  to  give  currency  to  educational  cant  and 

*  "  Politics,"  op.  cit.,  p.  230.  t  Ecclesiastcs  x.,  10. 

I  "  Phaedrus,"  274-278.     See  also  Lewes,  "  P>iog.  Hist,  of  Pliilos- 
ophy,"  pp.  197-199. 


118  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

error;  but  the  truth,  as  I  see  it,  may  best  be  expressed  in 
these  terms :  educational  truth  of  undoubted  value  is  not 
likely  to  be  new;  and  what  is  brand  new  in  education  is 
not  likely  to  be  true.     Of  course,  I  make  this  statement 
with  reference  to  doctrines  and  principles.     But  some 
one  will  ask  on  what  ground  is  it  that  the  discovery  of 
new  truth  is  not  as  probable  in  education  as  in  physical 
science.     Two  things  may  be  said  in  reply :  (1)  The  dis- 
coveries in  science  do  not  consist  for  the  most  part  in 
principles  and  laws,  but  rather  in  applications  and  exten- 
sions; it  is  this  line  of  discovery  that  is  always  imminent 
in  education.     (2)  Besides,  the  human  mind,  the  great 
constant  in  education,  has  been  a  subject  of  stud}'',  just  as 
accessible  to  the  ancient  as  to  the  modern.     Every  man, 
in  fact,  carries  about  witli  him  in  his  consciousness  the 
material  of  educational  study,  and  it  is  for  this  reason 
that  tlie  improbability  of  essentially  new  discoveries  is 
60  much  greater  in  education  than  in  physical  science. 
Other  constants  are  the  relation  of  man  to  man,  and  of 
man  to  his  Creator.     Is  it  probable  that  these  relations 
are  liable  to  any  radical  change  ?     If  not,  the  probability 
of  new  discovery  is  cut  off  in  this  field.     The  relations 
of  man  to  the  state  have  not  been  so  constant,  and,  in 
consequence,  the   conception    of  education  has  varied 
through  the  centuries ;  but  what  probability  is  there  that 
any  new  type  of  such  variation  is  to  be  developed  in  the 
future  ? 

What  shall  we  say  of  man's  duties  to  himself?  Is 
there  any  probability  of  a  radical  change  in  this  direc- 
tion ?  Next  to  the  relations  of  man  to  his  Maker,  the  re- 
lations of  man  to  himself  seem  to  me  to  form  the  chief 
constant  in  education.  Man  is  counted  as  a  gregarious 
animal ;  but  he  might  be  most  characteristically  described 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  119 

as  the  solitary  being.  Self-conscionsness  perforce  makes 
him  such ;  though  living  in  society,  man  communes  con- 
stantly and  chiefly  with  himself ;  and  save  one,  educa- 
tion has  no  higher  or  holier  purpose  than  to  fit  man  to 
bo  his  own  companion.  Our  reformers  need  to  be  re- 
minded that  the  young  should  be  taught  to  he  as  well 
as  to  do,  which  is  now  regarded  as  the  principal  thing. 
My  purpose  in  making  reference  to  this  phase  of  the 
educational  problem  is  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the 
striving  after  the  ideal  man  is  virtually  a  constant  in 
education,  and  that  there  is  no  probability  that  there  is 
to  be  any  abrupt  change  in  this  conception.  Wiiat  is  to 
follow  is  virtually  what  has  been. 

The  types  of  education  that  have  come  do.wn  to  us  from 
the  ancient  world  may  be  designated  as  follows :  the  in- 
tellectual, the  ethical,  the  religious,  the  practical,  the  po- 
litical, the  contemplative,  the  liberal.  The  general  style 
of  education  has  always  responded  to  the  dominant  con- 
ception of  man's  destiny.  When  this  conception  has 
been  partial,  or  narrow,  education  has  likewise  been  nar- 
row ;  and  when  this  conception  has  been  broad,  the  edu- 
cation has  been  liberal.  The  fact  I  wish  to  state  is  that 
these  types  are  exhaustive,  or,  at  any  rate,  are  so  compre- 
hensive that  it  is  wholly  improbable  that  there  can  ever 
be  an  education  into  which  several  of  these  types  do  not 
enter  as  factors.  That  there  should  be  an  essentially  new 
education,  one  of  two  things,  speaking  generally,  would 
be  necessary :  either  a  radical  change  in  the  constitution 
of  human  nature,  or  a  radical  change  in  human  destiny ; 
or,  what  would  amount  to  the  same  thing,  a  discovery 
that  the  present  conception  of  human  nature  is  a  mistake. 
A  mere  modification  of  either  of  these  conditions  would 
entail  only  a  modification  of  the  existing  education  ;  but 


120  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

an  essentially  new  education  would  require  a  substitute 
for  one  of  these  existing  sets  of  conditions. 

I  am  aware  that  a  pretence  has  latterly  been  set  up 
that  such  a  change  in  conditions  has  actually  taken  place, 
in  the  shape  of  a  revised  conception  of  what  may  be 
called  child-mind.  The  dominant  conception  has  been 
that  the  mind  of  the  child  and  the  mind  of  the  adult  are 
essentially  the  same ;  that  from  the  one  to  the  other  there 
is  complete  continuity  of  growth;  that  the  one  becomes 
the  other  by  a  series  of  unconscious  and  indefinable 
transitions ;  that  they  are  the  very  same  in  kind,  differing 
only  in  relative  development  and  power ;  in  other  words, 
that  the  child  is  a  little  man.  The  new  conception  is  to 
the  effect  that  the  child-mind  is  a  thing  sui  generis,  pe- 
culiar in  kind,  structure,  ability,  and  laws  of  growth.  If 
this  assumption  be  admitted,  it  follows  that  there  may 
be  a  "  new  education  "  for  children,  based  on  the  consti- 
tution of  the  being  that  up  to  this  time  has  been  wholly 
misunderstood.  In  respect  of  this  assumption  I  would 
make  the  following  observations: 

1.  There  are  no  analogies  to  support  it.  In  the  vege- 
table world  there  is  unbroken  continuity,  from  the  tender 
blade  that  has  merely  begun  its  growth  up  to  the  robust 
tree  that  has  reached  the  term  of  its  development.  The 
mode  of  growth  at  any  given  instant  is  identical  with  the 
mode  of  growth  at  the  next  instant.  There  is,  from  first 
to  last,  a  continuity  of  structure  that  is  absolutely  un- 
broken. There  is  no  moment  at  which  the  plant  ceases 
to  be,  and  the  tree  begins  to  be ;  the  plant  and  the  tree 
are  one. 

In  physical  growth  there  is  the  same  fact  of  absolute 
continuity  in  structure,  and  nutrition  is  administered  by 
laws  that  act  with  absolute  uniformity.    There  is  not  an 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  121 

infant  digestion  as  distinguished  from  adult  digestion. 
Different  kinds  of  food  may  be  required  in  the  two  cases, 
but  if  digestion  takes  place  at  all,  its  mode  is  the  same 
in  both  cases.  If  the  claim  were  to  be  set  up  bj  some 
"  new  light "  in  physiology  that  we  as  yet  know  nothing 
of  infant  digestion,  it  would  be  a  sufficient  reply  to  say 
that,  as  we  know  much  of  adult  digestion,  we  also  know 
much,  by  implication,  of  the  digestive  process  in  infants. 
So  far  as  the  facts  of  nurture  and  growth  are  concerned, 
the  infant  and  the  man  are  one. 

2.  The  consensus  of  philosopJdc  opinion  supports  the 
notion  thai  there  is  hut  one  psychology.  The  classical 
writers  on  mental  science,  ancient  and  modern,  discuss 
the  phenomena  of  the  intellectual  life  as  constituting  an 
organic  unity;  they  make  no  attempt  to  classify  these 
phenomena  on  the  basis  of  age.  The  dominant  concep- 
tion of  to-day  is,  that  the  beginnings  of  the  various  modes 
of  mental  activity  are  virtually  simultaneous,  but  that 
their  rates  of  development  are  unequal ;  that  the  organic 
modes  of  mental  activity  are  the  same  for  the  child  as 
for  the  man ;  that  the  constitutional  difference  in  the 
two  cases  is  one  of  relative  power ;  and  that  the  differ- 
ence in  products  in  the  two  cases  is  one  of  relative  per- 
fection. In  other  words,  so  far  as  the  nature  of  mind  is 
concerned,  there  is  but  one  psychology  and  one  logic. 
So  far  as  they  both  conceive,  or  imagine,  or  reason,  the 
child  and  the  man  are  obedient  to  identical  laws;  and 
whatever  difference  may  appear  in  the  products  of  these 
several  acts  is  due  to  unequal  rates  of  work,  or  to  differ- 
ent degrees  of  perfection. 

3.  The  supposed  difference  hetween  child  and  man^  as 
to  mental  constitution,  has  led  to  serious  errors  in  prac- 
tice.    In  some  instances  instruction  has  been  adminis- 

6 


122  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION, 

tered  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  child's  mind  passes  in 
rcguL^r  succession  from  sensation  to  perception,  from 
perception  to  conception,  from  conception  to  reasoning, 
etc.,  etc. ;  and  that,  while  one  of  these  modes  of  mental 
activity  is  in  progress  there  is  to  be  an  exemption  from 
all  others.  Such  instruction  is  necessarily  scrappy,  dis- 
continuous, and  in  the  highest  degree  unnatural.  The 
true  conception  is,  that  even  in  the  child  all  these  modes 
of  mental  activity  are  displayed  simultaneously,  and  that 
the  nurture  should  be  catholic  and  wholesome.  Anoth- 
er error  consists  in  a  systematic  underrating  of  the  child's 
ability,  whereby  instruction  becomes  so  childish  as  to  be 
trivial,  trifling,  and,  to  a  bright  pupil's  mind,  patroniz- 
ing. To  secure  that  degree  of  reaction  which  is  neces- 
sary for  real  discipline,  instruction  must  be  pitched  to  a 
key  somewhat  above  the  plane  of  the  child's  spontaneous 
mental  state.  "  Speak  to  the  child  two  years  old,"  says 
Kichter,  "as  though  he  were  six."*  The  teacher  who 
regards  her  pupils  as  little  men  and  little  women,  who 
makes  real  demands  on  their  intelligence,  and  perhaps 
presumes  somewhat  on  their  ability,  follows  a  truer  psy- 
chology than  one  who  minces  and  subdivides  more  than 

*  "Always  employ  a  language  some  years  in  advance  of  the 
child  (men  of  genius  speak  to  us  from  the  vantage-ground  of  cen- 
turies) ;  speak  to  the  one-year-old  child  as  though  he  were  two, 
and  to  him  as  though  he  were  six ;  for  the  difference  of  progress 
diminishes  in  the  inverse  proportion  of  years.  Let  the  teacher,  es- 
pecially he  who  is  too  much  in  the  habit  of  attributing  all  learning 
to  teaching,  consider  that  the  child  already  carries  half  his  world, 
that  of  mind — the  objects,  for  instance,  of  moral  and  metaphysical 
contemplation — already  formed  within  him ;  and  hence  that  lan- 
guage, being  provided  only  with  physical  images,  cannot  give,  but 
merely  illumines,  his  mental  conceptions."  —  "Lcvana"  (Boston, 
1874),  pp.  347,  348. 


THE  MODE  OF   EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  123 

is  meet.  In  saying  this,  I  do  not  forget  the  old  error  of 
indiscriminate  diet ;  but  I  think  the  modern  error  is  the 
iT'.ore  to  be  deplored.  Strangely  enough,  some  who  make 
the  most  absolute  distinction  between  children  and  men, 
as  to  mental  constitution,  demand  that  a  child's  concep- 
tions shall  be  as  definite  and  adequate  as  those  of  a  more 
mature  mind.  The  child,  like  the  primitive  race,  lives 
in  an  atmosphere  of  delicious  vagueness  that  inspires  the 
poetic  instinct.  This  is  a  clear  instance  of  what  we  may 
call  the  child's  nature.  The  conceptive  power  is  high, 
and  tlic  discriminating  power  correspondingly  low.  Dur- 
ing that  period  when  a  stick  can  be  so  easily  transformed 
into  an  angel  with  blue  eyes  and  golden  hair,  let  us  not 
demand  a  definition  of  geometrical  figures,  or  even  aa 
accurate  distinction  in  the  meaning  of  common  words. 

4.  The  main  laws  of  mental  Ufe^for  child  as  well  as 
for  man^  have  doubtless  heen  discovered  and  formulated. 
This  probability  rises  almost  to  certainty,  from  the  fact 
that  mental  phenomena  appear  in  the  consciousness  of 
every  thinking  being,  and  that  these  phenomena  have 
been  studied  by  the  highest  intelligences  of  all  ages. 
That  there  remains  any  real  discovery  yet  to  be  made 
seems  to  me  the  most  improbable  of  assumptions.  In 
his  recently  published  volume  of  essays,  Mr.  Bain  ex- 
presses this  thought :  "  I  deem  it  quite  possible  to  frame 
a  practical  science,  applicable  to  the  training  of  the  in- 
tellect, that  shall  be  precise  and  definite  in  a  very  con- 
siderable measure.  The  elements  that  make  up  our  in- 
tellectual growth  or  acquisition  are  almost  the  best  gen- 
eralities of  the  human  mind ;  even  the  most  complicated 
studies  can  be  analyzed  into  their  components,  partly  by 
psychology,  and  partly  by  the  higher  logic.  In  a  word, 
if  we  cannot  make  a  science  of  education,  so  far  as  in- 


124  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tellect  is  concerned,  we  may  abandon  metaphysical  study 
altogether.''  ^"' 

It  will  doubtless  be  said  by  some  that  there  is  hope  for 
a  revolution  in  education  in  the  "  new  psychology  "  which 
is  now  promised.  The  old  method  of  psychological  study 
by  introspection  has  had  its  day,  it  is  said  ;  and  the  new 
method,  which  proceeds  by  examination  of  results,  or  by 
the  use  of  the  scalpel  and  glass,  is  just  making  its  appear- 
ance. I  feel  compelled  to  summarize  what  I  think  on 
this  topic  as  follows : 

1.  Suppose  that  a  curious  piece  of  mechanism  Iiad 
been  discovered  by  the  earliest  race  of  thinkers,  but  of 
such  construction  that  its  parts  and  mode  of  action  could 
only  be  observed.  Suppose,  further,  that  this  piece  of 
mechanism  had  been  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  and  had 
been  made  the  object  of  long-continued  study  by  the 
acutest  thinkers  of  all  ages  down  to  the  present,  what  de- 
gree of  probability  is  there  that  any  important  fact  or 
law  of  this  piece  of  mechanism  would  escape  this  acute 
and  secular  examination  ?  Is  there  even  the  possibility 
that  either  the  mode  of  study  or  the  general  results  of 
such  an  investigation  can  be  discredited  by  any  new 
method  ?  This  supposed  case  typifies,  in  all  essential  re- 
spects, the  history  of  psychological  investigation.  Men- 
tal phenomena  are  just  as  real  and  just  as  obtrusive  as 
physical  phenomena,  and  the  method  of  observation  and 
induction  has  been  applied  as  rigorously  in  the  first  case 
as  in  the  second. 

2.  The  method  of  verification  by  the  study  of  prod- 
ucts or  results  is  very  ancient,  as  may  be  seen  by  con- 
sulting Plato's  "  Republic,"  book  ii.,  368.  It  is  also  mod- 
ern, as  may  be  seen  by  consulting  Cousin's  "  Lectures  on 

*  "  Practical  Essays,"  p.  147. 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  135 

ModeiMi  Pliilosoph}',"  vol.  i.,  lecture  ii.  Let  this  exami- 
nation of  products  be  accepted  for  what  it  is  really  worth, 
and  that  it  is  worth  much  I  cheerfully  admit;  but  it  is 
in  no  sense  a  substitute  for  the  reflective  study  of  mind 
itself.  We  would  learn  but  little  of  the  structure  of  a 
grist-mill  by  simply  examining  the  feed  and  flour  that 
ai'e  found  in  the  bags. 

3.  The  microscope  and  the  scalpel  have  told  us  much, 
and  will  doubtless  tell  us  much  more,  about  the  struct- 
ure and  functions  of  the  brain,  and  some  light  is  thus 
thrown  on  the  physical  conditions  of  mental  life;  but 
mental  phenomena  will  forever  escape  the  senses  of  sight 
and  touch — they  must  continue  to  be  studied,  as  they 
always  have  been  studied,  by  the  mind's  own  reflective 
effort. 

4.  The  fate  of  phrenology  might  teach  us  a  whole- 
some lesson  respecting  the  value  of  the  physical  method 
of  studying  the  mind.  On  the  basis  of  these  pretended 
discoveries  a  reform  in  education  was  advertised  and 
even  attempted,  but,  beyond  an  increased  interest  in 
physical  education,  the  world  still  keeps  on  its  accus- 
tomed way. 

In  what  has  preceded,  I  have  attempted  to  assign  my 
reasons  for  the  belief  that  no  revolution  in  education  is 
imminent;  that  no  new  discovery  is  likely  to  be  made  in 
the  nature  of  the  human  mind,  or  in  human  destiny,  that 
will  make  necessary,  or  even  possible,  a  "  new  educa- 
tion." That  virtual  discoveries  are  still  to  be  made  in 
both  these  fields,  and  that  there  is  to  be  continuous  and 
indefinite  progress  in  education,  I  most  firmly  believe ; 
and  on  these  two  topics  I  would  add  the  following  ob- 
servations : 

1.  In  the  sciences  of  psychology,  logic,  ethics,  sociol- 


126  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ogy,  and  physiology  we  have  the  disjecta  meirihra  of  a 
science  of  Iiuman  training;  and  in  the  co-ordination  and 
harmonizing  of  these  elen)ents,  and  in  the  transformation 
of  these  first  truths  into  rules  for  practice,  there  is  work 
enough  for  several  generations  of  clear-headed  thinkers. 
It  is  not  a  little  amusing  -to  note  the  fervid  aspirations 
of  some  for  new  and  far-remote  worlds  to  conquer,  while 
there  are  whole  continents  lying  before  their  very  doors, 
waiting  to  be  explored  and  appropriated.  There  is  not 
an  elementary  text-book  on  mental  science  that  does  not 
embody  doctrines  which,  if  vigorously  applied  in  the  de- 
ductive wa}',  would  expand  into  a  volume  of  rational 
method.  The  law  of  the  descent  of  the  mind  from  ag- 
gregates to  elements,  and  from  the  vague  to  the  delinitc, 
is  just  as  well  established  as  the  law  of  gravitation,  and 
is  just  as  comprehensive  in  the  scope  of  its  applications. 
Almost  the  whole  of  method  is  involved  in  this  funda- 
mental law.  Here  is  a  world  that  has  long  since  been 
conquered  by  mental  science,  but  it  still  waits  to  be  ex- 
plored and  appropriated  by  educational  science.  I  think 
it  must  be  counted  one  of  the  standing  marvels  of  educa- 
tional history  that  so  open  and  so  inviting  afield  has  not 
been  cultivated. 

Another  field,  quite  as  broad,  perhaps  even  more  in- 
viting because  of  its  difiiculties,  and  as  yet  hardly  touched 
by  the  pioneers  in  educational  science,  is  the  doctrine  of 
motive.  Tiiis  doctrine  underlies  the  whole  subject  of 
school  government,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  art  of  giving 
instruction.  If  we  define  teaching  as  tlie  art  of  causing 
pupils  to  learn,  we  may  truly  say  that  this  entire  art 
hangs  on  the  deft  manipulation  of  motive. 

Not  much  substantial  progress  can  be  made  in  educa- 
tion, as  it  seems  to  me,  till  ,we  have  a  pretty  definite 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  127 

scheme  of  education  values.  We  need  to  know,  with 
considerable  exactness,  both  the  quality  and  the  amount 
of  work  that  can  be  done  by  the  educational  agents, 
arithmetic,  grammar,  historj',  science,  etc.  This  is  a  most 
interesting  and  promising  field  for  investigation. 

I  liave  now  briefly  indicated  three  important  regions 
of  professional  investigation ;  and  I  submit  that  some  of 
the  surplus  zeal  of  our  reformers  might  be  most  profita- 
bly turned  into  these  channels. 

2.  At  this  point  some  will  doubtless  interpose  the  o\>- 
jcction  that  the  mode  of  study  1  have  commended  will 
induce  a  surfeit  of  educational  theory ;  and  will  demand 
a  course  of  study  on  the  practical  or  experimental  plan. 
I  am  glad  to  respond  that,  if  I  have  any  hobby  whatever, 
I  think  it  is  the  study  of  the  experimental  phase  of  the 
educational  problem.  In  all  the  past,  the  business  of 
education  has  been  conducted  almost  wholly  on  the  ex- 
perimental plan  ;  and  I  firmly  believe  in  the  almost  in- 
comparable value  of  a  careful  study  of  these  long-con- 
tinued and  varied  experiments.  I  have  already  pointed 
out  the  fact  that  all  conceivable  solutions  of  this  complex 
problem  have  been  attempted ;  that  the  Greek,  the  lio- 
man,  the  Jew,  the  Egyptian,  the  Hindoo,  the  Persian, 
the  Protestant,  the  Catholic,  the  Free-thinker,  the  Ger- 
man, the  Frenchman,  the  American,  the  Englishman,  the 
Monarchist,  the  Republican,  the  Absolutist — that  every- 
body, in  fact — has  been  working  at  some  phase  of  this 
problem  ever  since  the  dawn  of  civilization;  and  now  it 
is  to  be  observed  that,  through  the  foolishness  of  reading, 
we  may  make  a  critical  survey  of  all  the  notable  instances 
in  which  education  has  thus  been  put  on  trial.  How  are 
we  to  account  for  the  curious  fact  that  the  teaching  class, 
as  a  whole,  is  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  history  of  edu- 


128  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

cation  ?  Of  this  there  can  be  but  little  donbt :  the  ef- 
fect of  such  a  study  would  be  both  conservative  and  con- 
structive ;  there  would  be  a  hearty  respect,  if  not  rever- 
ence, for  the  present  status  of  education,  as  it  has  been 
the  issue  and  outgrowth  of  the  entire  past ;  and  we  would 
witness  an  orderly  and  rational  effort  to  determine  the 
future  of  education  by  legitimate  processes  of  growth. 
I  may  be  too  sanguine  in  my  faith  in  the  utility  of  edu- 
cational history  as  a  means  of  promoting  continuous  and 
orderly  growth ;  but  I  can  scarcely  doubt  that  it  would 
be  a  virtual  specific  for  educational  spasms. 

3.  As  I  conceive  the  nature  of  real  progress  in  educa- 
tion, the  philosophy  of  spirit  is  the  light  beaming  from 
afar  that  points  us  towards  the  harbor  we  hope  finally 
to  enter;  while  the  history  of  education  is  the  light  that 
keeps  us  in  constant  remembrance  of  the  port  from  which 
we  are  sailing;  and  it  is  only  by  correcting  our  course 
by  means  of  these  two  lights  that  we  shall  make  our 
voyage  safe  and  continuous.  If  I  maj'^  still  use  tiiis  fig- 
ure, our  course  hitherto  has  been  too  much  like  that  of 
drifting  along  unknown  shores  while  on  a  purposeless 
voyage,  or  like  that  of  tacking  before  head-winds,  or  of 
being  fiercely  driven,  first  by  a  gale  blowing  from  one 
point  of  the  compass,  and  then  from  another.  What  wo. 
need  is  to  bring  about  a  forward  movement  in  a  direct 
line,  by  availing  ourselves  of  the  grand  resultant  of  all 
the  forces  we  can  press  into  our  service.  The  chief  work 
of  the  present,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is,  first,  that  of  sum- 
ming up  the  net  results  of  our  progress  thus  far,  and  theii 
of  patiently  co-ordinating,  harmonizing,  unifying,  and 
systematizing.  It  is  in  these  regions  that  we  are  to  court 
the  breezes  of  real  progress. 

I  will  now  consider  the  claims  of  the  "New  Educa- 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  129 

tion"  on  the  intelligence  and  confidence  of  men,  by  rea- 
son of  what  it  has  actually  accomplished.  I  wish,  if  it 
be  possible,  to  discover  the  general  direction  of  this  new 
movement,  whether  it  is  towards  the  truth  or  away  from 
the  truth.  That  there  are  some  difficulties  in  the  way 
must  be  admitted.  It  is  hard  to  analyze  an  ejaculation, 
an  aspiration,  or  a  sigh ;  and,  while  the  wholesale  de- 
nunciation of  whatever  has  been  and  is  shows  us  pretty 
plainly  what  our  reformers  propose  to  abandon,  they 
give  ns  but  little  help  in  determining  what  will  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  chronic  ills  of  the  present.  Fortunately, 
however,  this  new  educational  gospel  has  apparently  set- 
tled one  article  of  its  creed,  and  so  has  put  one  item  of 
doctrine  into  a  tangible  shape.  As  I  repeat  this  favor- 
ite formula  of  the  "New  Education,"  please  recall  the 
saying  of  Pestalozzi  about  reversing  the  European  car 
of  progress,  and  the  advice  of  Rousseau  about  taking  the 
roads  directly  contrary  to  the  ones  in  use.  Among  the 
noted  educational  reformers,  exaggeration  seems  to  be  a 
hereditary  trait.  The  creed  of  the  "  Kew  Education,"  so 
far  as  it  has  been  formulated,  is  embodied  in  this  text: 
We  learn  to  do  hy  doing.  My  purpose  is  to  discover 
whether  this  new  movement  is  in  the  line  of  historic 
truth,  or  whether  it  is  a  departure  from  the  truth.  Twen- 
ty-four centuries  ago.  Bias,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men 
of  Greece,  left  to  the  world  this  apothegm  :  Know  and 
then  do.  Twenty-one  centuries  later.  Lord  Bacon  wrote : 
"  Studies  perfect  nature,  and  are  perfected  by  experi- 
ence." In  both  these  cases  the  sequence  is  the  same,  the 
antecedent  to  doing  is  hnowijig  ;  we  learn  to  do  by  know- 
ing. At  the  present  moment,  all  professional  and  tech- 
nical instruction  is  administered  on  the  hypothesis  that 
knowing  is  the  necessary  preparation  for  doing ;  and  the 

6* 


i30  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

term  qnackerj  lias  been  set  apart  to  express  tlie  coiiiinon 
contempt  for  the  practice  of  learning  to  do  bj  doing. 
Here  are  three  landmarks  appearing  at  intervals  throngh 
a  long  procession  of  centnries,  and  they  are  all  in  a  direct 
line.  The  thought  of  Bias  is  sanctioned  by  Bacon,  and 
embodied  in  the  very  civilization  of  the  present  moment. 
If  anything  has  been  settled  by  the  experience  and  com- 
mon-sense of  mankind,  it  is  that  action  should  be  preceded 
and  guided  by  knowledge.  Now  what  shall  be  our  judg- 
ment of  a  proposed  revolution,  the  first  and,  so  far  as  an- 
nounced, the  only  principle  of  which  is  a  bald  denial  of 
a  universal  truth  ?  This  seems  like  the  culmination  of 
presumption.  Pestalozzi  would  reverse  the  car  of  Euro- 
pean progress,  but  the  latest  reformers  have  undertaken 
the  task  of  reversing  the  car  of  the  world's  progress. 
But  Pestalozzi  failed  in  his  modest  undertaking.  We 
must  distinguish  the  intellectual  phase  of  this  movement 
from  its  emotional  phase,  and,  in  respect  of  the  former, 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  outlook  is  hopeless  enough. 

The  main  conclusions  of  this  inquiry  I  now  summarize 
as  follows : 

The  promise  of  a  "  new  education,"  as  something  rad- 
ically different  in  principle  and  method  from  the  educa- 
tion of  the  present,  implies  a  gross  misconception  of  the 
nature  of  normal  progress,  as  well  as  an  ignorance  of 
what  has  already  been  done  in  this  field  of  linman  ef- 
fort. 

The  possibility  of  a  complete  revolution  in  education 
implies  one  of  three  things :  (1)  either  that  there  is  to  be 
a  radical  change  in  human  nature ;  or  (2)  a  radical  change 
in  human  destiny ;  or  (3)  that  educational  processes  liith- 
erto  have  not  been  adapted  to  human  nature  or  to  hu- 
man needs. 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL   PROGRESS.  131 

As  tliere  is  not  the  least  probability  of  any  imini- 
nent  change  in  the  constitution  of  the  human  mind, 
or  in  the  conception  of  man's  destiny  and  needs,  and 
as  it  is  inconceivable  that  the  world  tlius  far  has  been 
radically  wrong  in  tlie  practice  of  education,  it  is  in- 
conceivable tliat  there  is  to  be  a  winding-up  of  the  pres- 
ent order  of  things  in  favor  of  an  essentially  new  order 
of  things. 

The  fact  that  education  has  been  studied  and  practised 
from  the  earliest  historic  period  to  the  present  excludes 
any  probability  that  there  remains  any  essentially  new 
phase  of  the  problem  to  be  presented. 

Throughout  the  entire  past  education  has  been  de- 
fective through  some  violation  of  the  laws  of  symmetrj^, 
or  proportion  or  harmony.  While  holding  very  strong- 
ly to  one  phase  of  the  problem,  the  mind  has  let  slip 
other  phases  of  co-ordinate  importance,  so  that,  while 
there  has  been  progress  on  the  whole,  it  has  not  been 
steady  and  symmetrical,  but  intermittent  and  dispropor- 
tioned. 

Improvement  in  the  theory  of  education  will  consist, 
for  the  most  part,  in  extending,  co-ordinating,  and  har- 
monizing old  lines  of  thinking,  and  in  forming  a  catho- 
lic view  of  the  problem  of  education  from  the  scientitic 
study  of  human  nature.  The  history  of  education  should 
be  made  the  counterpart  and  proof  of  the  science  of  edu- 
cation. 

In  whatever  has  life,  there  will  be  the  appearance  of 
something  new  until  the  term  of  perfect  development 
has  been  reached.  In  a  certain  sense,  the  tree  of  to-day 
is  a  new  tree  as  compared  with  the  tree  of  yesterday, 
which  might  be  called  the  old  tree.  In  the  same  sense, 
the  education  of  next  year  will  be  new,  as  compared  with 


132  SCIENCE   OF  EDUCATION. 

the  education  of  this  3'ear.  If,  in  the  case  of  tiie  tree, 
we  were  to  imagine  it  as  it  probably  will  be  after  a  pe- 
riod of  a  hundred  j-ears,  supposing  its  life  to  be  indefi- 
nite, and  were  then  to  contrast  that  probable  tree  with 
the  actual  one  of  to-day,  we  might,  by  cancelling  the 
additions  of  each  day  in  the  century,  make  it  appear 
that  the  two  trees  belong  to  different  species,  and  might 
even  work  ourselves  into  a  state  of  contempt  for  the 
thing  that  is  before  our  eyes. 

When  we  consider  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  cur- 
rent education,  and  then  the  marks  which  characterized 
the  education  in  vogue  just  prior  to  the  Reformation, 
the  contrast  is  so  striking  that  there  is  a  justification  for 
speaking  of  the  two  systems  as  the  "  old  "  and  the  "  new," 
80  long  as  we  are  intent  on  the  study  of  contrasts ;  but 
when  we  observe  more  closely  and  discover  the  large 
element  of  sameness  that  runs  through  the  two  systems, 
it  becomes  plain  that  there  has  been  no  break  in  continu- 
ity, and  that,  after  all,  the  fact  of  unity  is  the  most  sig- 
nificant mark. 

In  the  cant  of  the  day, the  term  "  New  Education"  is 
the  name  for  an  aspiration ;  it  marks  a  contrast  between 
what  is  and  what  is  to  he.  "  No  one  can  tell,"  we  are 
assured  on  authority,  "what  the  so-called  New  Educa- 
tion really  is,  from  the  very  fact  that  many  if  not  most 
of  its  principles  and  resulting  methods  have  yet  to  be 
discovered.  We  stand  on  the  border-land  of  discovery 
in  education.  .  .  .  There  is  an  immense  margin  hetween 
the  hnovm  and  the  unknown  in  education^  Let  us  make 
an  allowance  for  the  distortion  of  sentiment,  and  call 
this  hypothetical  margin  wide  instead  of  immense.  What 
point  in  the  history  of  the  last  twenty-four  centuries  can 
we  select  and  say,  with  any  degree  of  truthfulness,  that 


THE  MODE   OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  133 

the  margin  between  wliat  was  then  known  on  the  sub- 
ject of  education  and  what  is  now  known  is  even  wide  ? 
What  ground  is  there  for  assuming  that  there  will  be  a 
wide  margin  between  the  present  and  the  near  future  in 
the  matter  of  education  ?  I  see  no  ground  save  in  a  dis- 
tempered imagination. 

That  there  is  "an  immense  margin"  between  what  is 
really  known  on  education  and  what  might  be  known  by 
historical  study,  is  discreditably  true.  The  most  fruit- 
ful field  for  investigation  is  the  past  rather  than  the  fut- 
ure. There  are  some  indications  that  we  are  indeed  on 
this  "  border-land  of  discovery."  If  this  be  true,  there 
are  startling  revelations  in  store  for  some.  There  is  a 
thought  in  this  quotation  from  a  recent  sermon  by  Arcli- 
deacon  Fdrrar,  that  is  worth  considering  : 

"We  boast  of  our  educational  ideal.  Is  it  nearly  as 
high  in  some  essentials  as  that  even  of  some  ancient  and 
heathen  nations  long  centuries  before  Christ  came  ?  The 
ancient  Persians  were  worshippers  of  fire  and  of  the  sun  ; 
most  of  their  children  would  have  been  probably  unable 
to  pass  the  most  elementary  examination  in  physiology, 
but  assuredly  the  Persian  ideal  might  be  worthy  of  our 
study.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  —  the  age  we  turn  our 
children  adrift  from  school,  and  do  nothing  for  them — 
the  Persians  gave  their  young  nobles  the  four  best  mas- 
tei-8  whom  they  could  find  to  teach  their  boys  wisdom, 
justice,  temperance,  and  courage — wisdom  including  wor- 
ship, justice  including  the  duty  of  unswerving  truth- 
fulness through  life,  temperance  including  mastery  over 
sensual  temptations,  courage  including  a  free  mind  op- 
posed to  all  things  coupled  with  guilt,"* 

From  my  point  of  view,  the  main  features  of  the  so- 
*  London  Schoolmaster,  June  13, 1883. 


134  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

called  "New  Education"  may  be  stated  as  follows:  It  is 
the  name  for  something  which  has  no  existence,  actual 
or  probable ;  the  movement  had  its  origin  in  sentiment, 
and  its  strength  lies  in  the  fact  of  its  vagueness;  wher- 
ever this  sentiment  appears  in  any  strength  it  tends  to 
destroy  the  school  as  it  actually  exists,  bnt  provides  no 
definite  substitute  for  it ;  it  counsels  a  violent  revolution 
instead  of  an  equable  evolution  ;  it  employs  the  language 
of  exaggeration,  and  appeals  to  prejudices  and  narrow 
views;  it  preaches  absolute  freedom  and  versatility,  but 
it  is  dogmatic  in  its  utterances  and  autlioritative  in  its 
precepts ;  it  represents  an  impulse  to  abandon  certain 
errors  in  practice,  but  rushes  blindly  into  errors  of  an 
opposite  sort,  and  so  is  in  direct  opposition  to  normal 
progress;  jper  contra^  it  summons  public  attention  to 
educational  questions,  excites  thought  and  discussion, 
stimulates  the  sluggish,  forces  the  thoughtful  to  give  a 
reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them,  and  so  is  perhaps  the 
cause  of  some  actual  progress,  though  in  itself  an  indica- 
tion of  chronic  unsoundness  in  the  intellectual  condition 
of  the  teaching  profession.  It  is  better  to  move  in  this 
way  than  not  move  at  all ;  but  it  falls  almost  infinitely 
short  of  an  ideal  mode  of  progress. 

New  buds  do  not  make  a  new  tree.  Each  year  adds 
something  new  to  our  education  either  in  doctrine  or  in 
method,  and  each  day  brings  to  the  thinker  some  revela- 
tion of  truth  ;  but  these  additions  are  all  in  the  line  of  de- 
velopment or  growth,  they  are  perennial  buds  and  blos- 
soms proceeding  from  the  secular  trunk  and  branches. 

Mr.  Bain  speaks  of  the  "difiiculty  of  reconciling  the 
whole  man  with  himself;"  this  I  believe  to  be  one  of 
the  great  problems  of  education  which  the  future  has  to 
Bolve.    The  dominant  purpose  of  Greek  education  was 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  135 

to  form  the  man ;  but  the  education  of  the  present  day 
seems  intent  on  the  formation  of  the  instrument.  In 
educational  polemics,  the  real  contest  of  to-day  is  between 
the  partisans  of  a  liberal  education  and  the  partisans  of 
a  technical  education.  How  may  an  individual  become 
and  continue  to  be  an  instrument,  and  at  the  same  time 
approach  more  and  more  nearly  the  typical  man  ?  This 
reconciliation  we  might  honestly  call  the  "l^ew  Educa- 
tion."* 

There  are  still  other  tendencies  to  reconcile.  The 
kindergarten  embodies  the  conception  of  pleasurable,  un- 
forced activity,  and  of  development  from  within  out- 
ward through  "gifts"  and  "occupations;"  spontaneity  is 
encouraged,  and  the  child's  instinct  to  play  is  turned  to 
account.  The  motive  to  exertion  is  of  tlie  attractive 
type,  and  the  purpose  is  discipline,  development,  forma- 
tion, through  a  process  of  agreeable  sense-training. 

The  public  school,  on  the  other  hand,  aims  at  infor- 

*  In  these  days  of  narrow  views  as  to  tljc  scope  of  education, 
when  an  imposing  philosophy  recommends  that  men  should  be 
trained  first  of  all  for  their  limited  functions  as  instruments,  it  is 
refreshing  to  ponder  doctrines  like  this : 

"  In  tlic  natural  order  of  things,  all  men  being  equal,  the  voca- 
tion common  to  all  is  the  state  of  manhood ;  and  whoever  is  well- 
trained  for  that  cannot  fulfil  badly  any  vocation  which  depends 
upon  it.  Whether  my  pupil  be  destined  for  the  anny,  the  church, 
or  the  bar,  matters  little  to  me.  Before  he  can  think  of  adopting 
tlie  vocation  of  his  parents,  nature  calls  upon  him  to  be  a  man. 
How  to  live  is  the  business  I  wish  to  teach  him.  In  leaving  my 
liands,  he  will  not,  I  admit,  be  a  magistrate,  a  soldier,  or  a  priest ; 
first  of  all  he  will  be  a  man.  All  that  a  man  ought  to  be  he  can 
be,  at  need,  as  well  as  any  one  else  can.  Fortune  will  in  vain 
alter  his  position,  for  he  will  always  occupy  his  own." — Rousseau, 
"  femile,"  op.  eit.,  pp.  13, 14, 


136  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

mation  as  well  as  discipline ;  it  cultivates  reflection  even 
more  than  observation ;  wlieu  spontaneity  fails  to  enlist 
the  pupils'  efforts  in  prescribed  lines,  it  resorts  to  en- 
forced activity ;  when  attractive  motives  fail  it  employs 
some  form  of  painful  stimulation  ;  it  purposes  to  inform 
or  furnish  the  mind  through  the  interpretation  of  books. 

Now  the  pleasurable,  disciplinary,  formative  aims  of 
tiie  kindergarten  are  in  themselves  wholesome  and  com- 
mendable; but  to  conduct  a  child's  education  exclusive- 
ly, or  even  very  largely,  on  this  type  is  to  exclude  him 
from  his  lawful  heritage  of  intellectual  wealth  and  to 
unfit  him  for  the  serious  duties  of  actual  life,  which  often 
demand  the  patient  doing  of  unpleasant  tasks.  Work 
and  play  belong  to  different  categories  of  activities,  and 
education  through  play  cannot  be  a  preparation  for  a 
life  which  must  be  devoted  to  work. 

The  average  public  school,  no  doubt,  errs  in  an  excess 
of  restraint,  of  mere  book-study,  and  of  enforced  activity ; 
and  is  lacking  in  spontaneity,  joyfulness,  and  in  produc- 
tive effort,  manual  and  mental.  Too  much  is  put  into 
the  mind  and  too  little  drawn  out  of  it ;  the  apprehen- 
sion of  truth  is  too  often  mediate  and  shadowy,  rather 
than  immediate  and  vivid. 

Cannot  these  extreme  tendencies  be  reconciled?  Can- 
not the  freedom  and  joy  of  the  kindergarten  be  infused 
into  the  serious  work  of  the  public  school? 

In  what  I  have  now  said  I  have  expressed  a  candid 
opinion  of  the  "New  Education"  as  to  its  raison  d'etre. 
I  do  not  know  that  any  one  will  agree  with  me  in  my 
judgment;  but  I  claim  the  right  to  form  and  express  an 
opinion  on  a  question  that  is  now  exciting  so  much  pub- 
lic attention.  I  may  be  wrong  in  the  conclusions  I  have 
reached,  but  I  have  tried  to  state  them  so  clearly  that  my 


THE  MODE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS.  137 

errors  will  be  promptly  detected.  "Next  to  being  right 
in  this  world,"  says  Ilnxley,  "  the  best  of  all  things  is  to 
be  clearly  and  definitely  wrong,  because  you  will  come 
out  somewhere.  If  you  go  buzzing  about  between  right 
and  wrong,  vibrating  and  fluctuating,  you  come  out  no- 
where ;  but  if  you  are  absolutely  and  thoroughly  and 
persistently  wrong,  yon  must,  some  of  these  days,  have 
the  extreme  good-fortune  of  knocking  your  head  against 
a  post,  and  that  sets  you  all  right  again."  * 

After  all,  the  common  and  solid  ground  on  which  we 
can  all  stand  is  the  belief  in  continuous  growth.  For 
the  present,  we  differ  in  our  conception  of  progress ;  but 
finally,  let  us  hope, we  shall  all  attain  to  "the  unanimity 
of  the  wise." 

*  Educational  Times,  Dec,  1883,  p.  330. 


CHAPTER  VU. 
OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL." 

TnE  terms  "nature,"  "natural,"  "order  of  nature," 
etc.,  Lave  gained  such  a  foothold  in  modern  educational 
literature  that  it  is  necessary  to  have  some  settled  notions 
as  to  their  signification  if  we  care  to  interpret  current  dis- 
cussions of  principles.  We  are  doubtless  beholden  main- 
ly to  Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  and  Mr.  Spencer  for  the  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  these  terms,  and  it  is  unfortunate 
that  they  have  not  left  us  some  definition  that  will  make 
their  meaning  clear.  As  it  is,  there  is  an  element  of 
vagueness  and  uncertainty  in  their  discussions  that  is 
vexatious  and  misleading.  In  his  life  of  Pestalozzi,*  Dr. 
Biber  speaks  as  follows  of  the  term  "nature:"  "We  are 
perfectly  willing  to  admit  that  the  terra  '  nature,'  as 
used  by  the  German  writers,  involves  a  good  deal  of 
vagueness,  that  it  is  more  the  expression  of  a  mysterious 
something  than  of  an  idea,  or  of  a  being,  clearly  appre- 
hended ;  and  that  it  has  the  disadvantage  of  leading  the 
jnind  to  rest  satisfied  with  an  obscure  notion  which  has 
the  appearance,  rather  than  the  reality,  of  knowledge. 
Nay,  we  are  prepared  to  go  further  in  our  admission,  by 
stating  it  as  our  belief  that  most  of  the  German  writers 
who  have  employed  the  term,  if  they  were  pushed  to  a 
point  on  the  subject,  would  find  themselves  involved  in 

*  E.  Biber, "  Henry  Pestalozzi  and  his  Plan  of  Education  "  (Lon- 
don, 1831),  p.  178. 


OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"   AND  "NATURAL."        139 

some  difficulties  and  inconsistencies  arising  out  of  the 
vague  nse  of  a  word  of  so  conipreliensive  a  meaning,  and 
of  such  a  variety  of  acceptations." 

The  vague  and  misleading  character  of  this  term  is 
also  noticed  by  Jeremy  Bentham  :  "  Of  the  aggregations 
thus  formed,  some  have  been  better  made,  others  worse. 
Those  which  he  (Condillac)  regards  as  having  been  bet- 
ter made,  were  (he  assures  us)  the  work  of  Nature  /  those 
which  were  worse  made,  the  work  of  learned  men  :  mean- 
ing such  whose  labors  in  this  line  lie  saw  reason  to  dis- 
approve of. 

^^ Nature  being  a  sort  of  goddess — and  that  a  favorite 
one  —  by  ascribing  to  this  goddess  whatsoever  was  re- 
garded by  him  as  good,  he  seems  to  have  satisfied  him- 
self that  he  had  proved  the  goodness  of  it;  and,  by  so 
concise  an  expedient — an  expedient,  in  the  employment 
of  which  he  has  found  but  too  many  successors,  as  well 
as  contemporaries  and  predecessors — he  saved  himself  no 
small  quantity  of  trouble. 

^''Nature  is  a  sort  of  fictitious  personage,  without  whose 
occasional  assistance  it  is  scarce  possible  (it  must  be  con- 
fessed) either  to  write  or  speak.  But,  when  brought 
upon  the  carpet,  she  should  be  brought  on  in  her  proper 
costume — nakedness:  not  bedizened  witli  attributes;  not 
clothed  in  eulogistic^  any  more  than  in  dyslogistic,  moral 
qualities.  Making  minerals,  vegetables,  and  animals — 
this  is  her  proper  work,  and  it  is  quite  enough  for  her: 
whenever  you  are  bid  to  see  her  doing  marCs  work,  be 
8ure  it  is  not  Nature  that  is  doing  it,  but  the  author,  or 
somebody  or  other  whom  he  patronizes,  and  whom  he 
has  dressed  up  for  the  purpose  in  the  goddess's  robes."* 

*  Jeremy  Bentham,  "  Chrestomathia  "  (London,  1817),  pp.  333, 
334. 


140  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

It  is  not  a  little  singular  that  wiiile  the  myth  "Nature," 
has  been  discarded  in  physical  science  ("  nature  abhors  a 
vacuum  "),  it  is  a  favorite  term  in  the  nomenclature  of 
educational  science;  and  it  is  still  more  singular  that  a 
severe  logician  like  Mr.  Spencer  should  admit  an  indeter- 
minate symbol  into  the  formulas  of  an  austere  philoso- 
phy. Yagueness  has  its  proper  habitat  in  poetry  and  ro- 
mance ;  so  let  us  grant  to  rhapsodists  and  novelists  the 
monopoly  of  "  Nature." 

In  alluding  to  Mr.  Spencer's  habitual  invocation  of 
this  new  deity,  a  writer  in  the  Atlantic  Monthly,  for 
February,  1883,  Miss  E.  R.  Sill,  very  justly  observes  that 
"  probably  nine-tenths  of  the  popular  sophistries  on  the 
subject  of  education  would  be  cleared  away  by  clarify- 
ing the  word  Nature." 

The  following  are  examples  of  the  mischievous  use  of 
the  term  "  Nature :"  "  How  are  we  to  teach  and  learn 
surely,  i.  e.,  so  as  to  be  sure  of  our  result  ?  This  is  to  be 
done  by  finding  the  modus  operandi  of  Nature,  and  ac- 
commodating ourselves  to  that  as  follows :  Nature  attends 
to  a  fit  time ;  Nature  prepares  material  for  itself  before 
it  gives  it  form ;  Nature  takes  a  fit  subject  for  its  opera- 
tion, or,  at  least,  takes  care  that  it  be  made  fit ;  Nature 
does  not  confuse  itself  in  its  w-orks,  but  advances  distinct- 
ly to  one  thing  after  another ;  Nature  begins  all  its  op- 
erations from  within  outwards ;  Nature  begins  all  its  for- 
mation from  generals,  and  thence  proceeds  to  specialize ; 
Nature  does  not  proceed  per  saltum,  but  step  by  step ; 
Nature,  when  it  once  begins,  does  not  stop  till  it  has  com- 
pleted its  task  "  (Comenius). 

"  Watch  nature  carefully,  and  follow  the  paths  she 
traces  out  for  you;"  "the  internal  development  of  our 
faculties  and  of  our  organs  is  the  education  nature  gives 


OF  THE  TERMS   "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL."         141 

ns;"  "let  the  over-strict  teacher  and  the  over-indulgent 
parent  both  come  with  their  empty  cavils,  and  before 
they  boast  of  their  own  methods  let  them  learn  the 
method  of  nature  herself"  (Rousseau). 

"  It  is  nature  alone  wlio  does  us  good,  it  is  she  alone, 
incorruptible  and  imperturbable,  who  conducts  us  to 
truth  and  to  wisdom ;"  "  there  are  not,  there  cannot  be, 
two  good  methods  of  instruction.  There  is  but  one,  and 
this  reposes  absolutely  upon  the  eternal  laws  of  nature;" 
"  the  first  tutor  is  nature,  and  her  tuition  begins  from  the 
moment  when  the  child's  senses  are  opened  to  the  im- 
pressions of  the  surrounding  world  "  (Pestalozzl). 

"The  spirit  of  God  rests,  lives,  and  works  in  Nature, 
expresses  itself  by  Nature,  imparts  itself  through  Nature, 
continues  to  shape  itself  in  and  by  Nature ;  but  Nature 
itself  is  not  the  body  of  God,  God  himself  does  not 
dwell  in  Nature  as  in  a  house,  but  the  spirit  of  God 
dwells  in  Nature,  to  produce,  protect,  foster,  and  develop 
Nature"  (Froebel). 

"  By  our  various  physical  sensations  and  desires  Nature 
has  insured  a  tolerable  conformity  to  the  chief  require- 
ments ;"  "...  items  which  Nature  in  her  strict  account- 
keeping  never  drops ;"  "  that  increasing  acquaintance 
with  the  laws  of  phenomena  which  has  through  succes- 
sive ages  enabled  ns  to  subjugate  Nature  to  our  needs;" 
"it  would  be  utterly  contrary  to  the  beautiful  economy 
of  Nature,  if  one  kind  of  culture  were  needed  as  a  men- 
tal gymnastic;"  "Nature  illustrates  to  us,  in  the  simplest 
way,  the  true  theory  and  practice  of  moral  discipline ;" 
"  Nature  is  a  strict  accountant ;  and  if  you  demand  of  her 
in  one  direction  more  than  she  is  prepared  to  lay  out,  she 
balances  the  account  by  making  a  deduction  elsewhere" 
(Spencer). 


142  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

"  How,  then,  docs  nature  tcaeli  ?  She  furnishes  knowl- 
edge by  object  lessons;  .  .  .  she  makes  her  pnpil  learn  to 
do  by  doing,  to  live  by  living.  She  gives  him  no  gram- 
mar of  seeing,  hearing,  etc.;  .  .  .  she  adopts  much  repeti- 
tion in  her  teaching;  .  .  .  she  teaches  quietly,  she  does  not 
continually  interrupt  her  pupil; . . .  she  bides  her  time; . . . 
she  does  not  anxiously  intervene  to  prevent  the  conse- 
quences of  his  actions;  she  allows  him  to  experience 
them,  that  he  may  learn  prudence;  sometimes  even  let- 
ting him  burn  his  fingers,  that  he  may  gain  at  once  a 
significant  lesson  in  physics,  and  also  the  moral  lesson 
involved  in  the  ministry  of  pain;"  "nature's  teaching  is 
desultory ;"  "  nature's  teaching  is  often  inaccurate ;  not 
however,  from  any  defect  in  her  method^  but  from  in- 
herited defects  in  her  pupils;"  "nature's  teaching  often 
appears  to  be  overdone  ;"  "  nature  does  not  secure  the 
results  of  her  lessons  with  a  direct  aim  to  mental  and 
moral  improvement ;"  "  nature  accustoms  her  pupils  to 
little,  and  that  the  simplest  generalization  ;"  "  nature  is 
relentless  in  her  discipline;"  "the  educating  influence, 
or  educator,  is  God,  represented  by  nature,  or  natural  cir- 
cumstances" (Joseph  Payne). 

I  think  these  are  fair  and  snflScient  examples  of  the 
use  of  the  term  "Nature"  in  modern  educational  litera- 
ture; but  to  make  this  inquiry  more  comprehensive  I 
will  add  a  few  examples  of  the  ancient  use  of  this  term : 
"  By  nature  some  beings  command,  and  others  obey,  for 
the  sake  of  mutual  safety ;  for  a  being  endowed  by  dis- 
cernment and  forethought  is  by  nature  the  superior  and 
governor ;  whereas  he  who  is  merely  able  to  execute  by 
bodily  labor  is  the  inferior  and  a  natural  slave;  and 
hence  the  interests  of  master  and  slave  are  identical;" 
"  every  state  is  the  work  of  nature,  since  the  first  social 


OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL."         143 

ties  are  such ;  for  what  every  being  is  in  its  perfect 
state,  that  certainly  is  the  nature  of  that  being,  whether 
it  be  a  man,  a  horse,  or  a  liouse ;"  "  in  the  order  of  nature, 
the  state  is  prior  to  the  family  or  individual ;"  "  usury 
is  merely  money  born  of  money :  so  that,  of  all  means 
of  money-making,  this  is  the  most  contrary  to  nature" 
(Aristotle). 

"When  Polus  was  speaking  of  the  conventionally  dis- 
honorable, you  assailed  him  from  the  point  of  view  of 
nature ;  for,  by  the  rule  of  nature,  to  suffer  injustice  is 
the  greater  disgrace  because  the  greater  evil ;  but  conven- 
tionally, to  do  evil  is  more  disgraceful ;"  "  nature  herself 
intimates  that  it  is  just  for  the  better  to  have  more  than 
the  worse ;"  "  on  what  principle  did  Xerxes  invade  Hellas, 
or  his  father  the  Scythians  ?  These  are  the  men  who  act 
according  to  nature;  yes,  by  Heaven,  and  according  to 
the  law  of  nature  "  (Plato). 

I  think  these  quotations  may  be  regarded  as  typical, 
and  sufficiently  comprehensive  to  furnish  a  basis  for  the 
interpretation  of  this  vague  term.  At  least,  one  thing 
is  very  evident  even  at  this  stage  of  inquiry,  thinkers  in 
all  ages  of  the  world  have  been  fond  of  falling  back  on 
an  assumed  "order  of  nature"  as  a  justification  for  cer- 
tain opinions  or  doctrines.  John  Gillis,  in  his  Introduc- 
tion to  the  "  Politics,"  speaks  of  Aristotle's  method  as 
follows:  "In  this,  as  in  all  other  inquiries,  his  first  ques- 
tion is,  what  are  the  phenomena  ?  His  second,  what  is 
the  analogy  of  nature  ?"  It  is  well  known  that  by  this 
method  Aristotle  finds  a  sanction  for  human  slavery  and 
condemns  the  taking  of  interest  on  money.  In  these 
cases  it  is  evident  that  Aristotle  either  misconceived  the 
"order  of  nature,"  or  that  he  was  wrong  in  following 
the  lead  of  this  presupposition. 


144  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

A  study  of  the  examples  just  presented  will  show  that 
two  consti'Hctious  have  been  put  on  the  term  "  Nature," 
a  narrow  and  a  wide.  At  one  time  the  reference  is  made 
to  an  individual  thing,  as  a  man,  a  house,  or  a  horee ;  and 
at  others  to  the  cosmos,  the  universe,  or  the  earth,  as  an 
organized  aggregate  animated  bj  life  and  intelligence. 
As  it  is  the  easier  to  comprehend,  I  will  first  discuss  the 
term  in  its  narrower  signification.  A  typical  instance  of 
this  use  of  the  term  "Nature"  is  this  example  from  Aris- 
totle :  "  The  nature  of  a  thing  is  judged  by  its  tendency ; 
for  what  every  being  is  in  its  perfect  state,  that  certainly 
is  the  nature  of  that  being,  whether  it  be  a  man,  a  horse, 
or  a  house."  I  interpret  this  to  mean  that  in  the  germ  of 
every  living  thing,  as  a  man  or  a  horse,  there  is  a  prede- 
termination to  grow  into  the  most  perfect  type  of  its 
kind ;  that  from  the  acorn  to  the  oak  there  is  perfect 
continuity  of  growth  ;  and  that  what  persists  through  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  development  is  this  immanent  prede- 
termination, and  that  this  is  most  completely  manifested 
when  the  thing  has  attained  its  most  complete  form. 
Tiiis  immanent  tendency  to  grow  into  the  likeness  of  a 
tj'pe  is  the  nature  of  a  thing,  whatever  it  may  be,  as  a 
man,  or  a  horse,  or  a  tree.  By  an  easy  extension  of 
thought  we  may  speak  of  the  nature  of  a  piece  of 
mechanism.  Thus,  in  the  manufacture  of  a  watch,  the 
maker  embodies  in  it  a  determination  to  execute  move- 
ments of  a  preconceived  kind.  Perhaps  the  tension  of 
the  mainspring  most  nearly  represents  this  immanent 
predetermination ;  but  this  motive  power  in  connection 
with  the  correlated  parts  constitutes  the  nature  of  the 
watch.  And  by  a  similar  extension  of  thought  we  may 
speak  of  the  nature  of  inorganic  matter,  as  the  nature  of 
iron,  or  of  oxygen,  or  of  light,  meaning,  in  these  cases, 


OF  THE  TERMS  "  NATURE "  AND  "NATURAL,"    145 

some  characUristio  quality.  Thus,  it  is  the  naturo  of 
iron  to  conduct  electricity ;  of  oxygen,  to  combine  readily 
with  most  other  elements;  of  light,  to  move  in  straight 
lines.  From  this  point  of  view,  perhaps,  we  may  define 
the  nature  of  a  thing  as  the  laio  of  its  lehavior  or  of  its 
cjrowth. 

Before  leaving  this  narrower  conception  of  "Nature," 
it  will  conduce  to  clearness  to  determine  what  is  meant 
when  we  speak  of  "  following  the  order  of  nature."  In 
the  manufacture  of  a  watch,  the  maker  predetermines 
the  lenfjth  of  time  durino'  which  the  tension  of  the  main- 
spring  will  carry  forward  the  movement  of  the  hands, 
and  also  the  direction  in  which  this  spring  will  uncoil ; 
and  80  in  winding  a  watch  we  "  follow  the  order  of  its 
nature"  when  we  turn  the  key  in  a  certain  direction,  and 
observe  a  certain  interval  between  successive  windings. 
Thus,  it  is  the  nature  of  some  clocks  to  run  twenty-four 
liours,  but  of  others,  eight  days ;  and  in  the  management 
of  these  clocks  we  must  adapt  our  treatment  to  their  sev- 
eral natures. 

And  so  we  "follow  the  order  of  nature"  when  we 
feed  horses  oats,  and  hyenas  meat ;  for  by  their  original 
constitution  horses  were  predetermined  to  subsist  on 
vegetable  food,  and  hyenas  on  animal  food.  It  would  be 
"contrary  to  the  order  of  nature"  to  feed  horses  with 
meat,  and  hyenas  with  pastry. 

A  characteristic  property  of  phosphorus  is  its  ten- 
dency to  ignite  on  the  occasion  of  slight  friction ;  and  so 
we  "follow  nature"  when  we  tip  matches  with  phos- 
phorus. To  tip  them  with  graphite  would  be  "con- 
trary to  nature."  These  illustrations  arc  perhaps  suffi- 
cient to  make  clear  the  narrower  use  of  the  term 
"Nature." 

7 


146  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

When  we  arc  told  to  "  watch  natiiro  carefully,  and  fol- 
low the  paths  she  traces  out ;"  that  "  the  first  tutor  is 
nature,  and  her  tuition  begins  from  the  moment  when 
the  child's  senses  are  opened  to  the  impressions  of  the 
surrounding  world  ;"  that  "  nature  illustrates  to  us,  in  the 
simplest  way,  the  true  theory  and  practice  of  moral  dis- 
cipline ;"  and  that  "  nature  furnishes  knowledge  by  ob- 
ject-lessons," it  is  evident  that  we  have  to  do  with  a 
much  wider,  if  not  a  very  different,  conception. 

In  these  instances  the  reference  is  not  to  a  quality  or 
a  law,  but  to  a  living,  intelligent,  and  deliberating  person- 
ality. As  Bentham  correctly  observes,  "Nature"  is  hero 
"  a  sort  of  goddess,"  "  a  sort  of  fictitious  personage."  This 
goddess  is  an  incomparable  guide,  a  pattern  of  wisdom, 
economy,  and  forethought,  whose  methods  are  the  arche- 
types of  the  teacher's  methods.  But  this  statement  ex- 
plains nothing,  and  puts  the  thoughtful  teacher  no  fur- 
ther on  his  way  towards  a  rational  sj'stem  of  practice. 
Such  statements  simply  daze  and  bewilder  the  readers  of 
educational  literature. 

In  order  to  render  to  ourselves  an  intelligible  account 
of  this  modern  myth,  we  must  try  to  master  the  concep- 
tion of  the  universe  which  seems  to  underlie  the  newest 
system  of  philosophy.  The  naive  mind  of  the  fertile  and 
imaginative  Greek  peopled  mountain  and  vale,  woodland 
and  stream,  with  presiding  and  protecting  deities.  Air, 
earth,  and  water  were  peopled  with  a  host  of  divinities, 
whose  joint  action  controlled  all  terrestrial  phenomena, 
organic  and  inorganic.  But  this  host  of  gods  and  god- 
desses, of  satyrs  and  nymphs,  has  been  dispersed,  and  no 
one  is  now  conscious  of  their  presence;  but  for  this 
old  terrestrial  polytheism  there  lias  been  substituted  the 
modern  terrestrial  monotheism.    The  goddess  "Nature" 


OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"   AND  "NATURAL."         147 

has  replaced  Ynlcan  and  Ceres,  and  Juno  and  Hermes, 
etc.  The  powers  and  functions  that  were  once  exercised 
by  an  innumerable  host  of  divinities  are  now  ascribed  to 
the  one  supreme  goddess,  "  Nature." 

The  conception  of  the  earth  as  an  animated  organism 
is  not  new,  but  the  doctrine  of  evolution  has  served  to 
revive  it  and  to  give  it  a  higher  degree  of  definiteness. 
Under  this  conception,  earthquakes,  volcanoes,  cyclones, 
tides,  the  birth,  growth,  and  decay  of  animals  and  plants, 
the  formation  of  crystals,  minerals,  etc.,  the  march  of  a 
pestilence,  the  invasion  of  a  cultivated  district  by  a  horde 
of  locusts  or  caterpillars,  are  all  the  effects  of  the  voli- 
tional acts  of  "  Nature."  All  terrestrial  phenomena  are 
exhibitions  of  power,  and  this  earth-power,  when  personi- 
fied and  invested  with  the  attributes  of  intelligence  and 
wisdom,  is  "  Nature."  A  cave,  or  a  bower  of  trees,  is  a 
"natural"  house;  a  tree  that  has  fallen  across  a  stream 
is  a  "natural"  bridge;  beavers,  bees,  and  birds  are 
"  natural"  architects ;  fruks  that  grow  spontaneously  are 
"natural"  fruits.  From  this  point  of  view,  "Nature" 
may  be  called  "  the  Law  of  Evolution," 

Perhaps  we  can  gain  the  clearest  conception  of  "Nat- 
ure" as  here  considered,  by  imagining  the  earth  as  it  was 
immediately  prior  to  the  advent  of  man.  There  were 
forests,  mountains,  meadows,  lakes,  rivers;  there  were 
beasts,  great  and  small,  bird  and  fowl,  insect  and  reptile, 
sea-monster  and  fish  ;  there  were  thunder  and  lightning, 
rain,  hail,  and  snow,  hurricane  and  flood ;  there  were  day 
and  night,  winter  and  summer,  heat  and  cold ;  there  were 
birth,  life,  and  death,  creation,  growth,  and  destruction  ; 
and  all  these  were  the  works  of  "Nature."  Man  had 
not  come  to  mar  and  spoil.  "  Nature  "  reigned  supreme. 
There  was  nothing  to  oppose  the  "  order  of  nature." 


148  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Now  let  a  single  creature  of  the  human  species  be  in- 
troduced on  tlie  scene,  and  imagine  that,  Avhile  he  stands 
at  the  head  of  creation  in  point  of  brain  power,  he  lives 
a  purely  instinctive  or  animal  life.  When  hungry,  he 
goes  in  quest  of  food,  when  weary,  lie  rests  and  sleeps, 
when  warm,  he  seeks  the  shade,  when  cold,  he  retreats  to 
a  thicket  or  a  cave.  lie  eats  to  live,  and  he  lives  to  eat. 
Finally  he  reaches  the  "natural"  term  of  his  existence, 
and  dies  and  returns  to  dust.  This  man  was  purely  a 
"natural"  product,  just  as  trees  and  squirrels  and  stones 
are.  He  was  just  as  loyal  to  "Nature"  as  the  lamb  or 
the  dove.  He  was  acted  on  by  his  environment,  and  in 
turn  he  reacted  on  his  environment.  Once  menaced  by 
a  ferocious  beast,  the  experience  was  recorded  in  his 
brain,  and  afterwards,  for  self-preservation,  he  either  de- 
fended himself  or  fled.  His  whole  life  was  thus  a  course 
in  self-tuition.  "Nature"  taught  her  brightest  pupil  by 
object-lessons.  His  education  was  purely  "natural." 
"  The  ways  of  nature  are  the  easier  ways,"  says  Charles 
Francis  Adams.  This  supposed  case  then  exemplifies 
the  ideal  education,  for  it  was  conducted  whollj'-  by 
"  Nature."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  human  art  has  interfered 
so  little  in  the  education  of  savages  that  they  might  con- 
veniently be  taken  as  models  of  wliat  "Nature"  can  do 
when  she  is  not  hindered  and  thwarted  in  her  benign 
work. 

During  the  lifetime  of  this  man,  countless  experiences 
must  have  left  their  impressions  on  his  mind,  and  this 
residuum  must  have  constituted  some  kind  and  degree 
of  wisdom;  but  when  he  died,  "his  wisdom  went  with 
him,"  and  his  successors  on  tlie  earth  must  have  begun 
where  he  did,  and  must  have  stopped  where  he  stopped. 
This  supposed  case  exemplities  Mr.  Spencer's  statement. 


OF  THE  TERMS  "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL.  149 

that "  humanity  has  progressed  solely  by  self-instraction."* 
Now  let  us  suppose  that  several  creatures  of  the  human 
species  appear  on  the  scene,  and  tliat  thc}'^  dispute  and 
resist  tlie  domination  of  "Nature."  They  select  some 
plant  which  yields  them  food,  and  favor  its  growth  by 
loosening  the  earth  about  its  roots,  and  by  destroying  the 
weeds  that  compete  with  it  for  light,  moisture,  and  nutri- 
ment. They  enclose  this  cultivated  space,  and  thus  pro- 
tect that  on  which  they  have  bestowed  their  labor  from 
the  "natural"  incursions  of  beast  and  fowl.  Not  sat- 
isfied with  "natural"  protection  from  rain,  wind,  and 
snow,  they  build  themselves  houses  and  make  themselves 
garments.  For  mutual  aid  and  comfort  they  devise  a 
system  of  signs  for  communication  by  ear  and  eye,  and 
as  an  aid  to  memory  they  record  their  experiences  in 
written  language.  New  members  now  join  this  primi- 
tive community.  They  at  once  participate  in  the  food, 
the  shelter,  and  the  language  which  they  found  ready 
prepared  for  them,  and  thus  start  on  their  forward  march 
somewhat  at  the  point  where  the  elders  of  the  community 
will  stop.  These  elders  finally  succumb  to  "Nature," 
but  they  leave  behind  them  the  records  of  their  experi- 
ences in  doing  and  thinking.  They  die,  but  their  wis- 
dom does  not  go  with  them.  Their  successors  interpret 
these  written  legacies,  and  the  time  which  is  thus  saved 
from  rediscovery  they  employ  in  making  new  discoveries. 
To  require  each  new  member  of  the  human  family  to 
repeat  the  experiences  of  his  predecessors  on  the  earth 
would  be  to  ordain  a  perennial  relapse  into  savagery.  A 
necessary  factor  in  progress  is  inheritance.  There  can 
be  no  advance  in  wisdom  without  capitalization. 

The  changes  wrought  in  the  domain  of  "  Nature "  by 
*  "E<lnr!itioti.''  p.  125. 


150  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  self-determining  and  creative  power  of  man.  we  as- 
cribe to  Art.  Man  is  the  only  creature  that  has  the 
power  to  react  deliberately  on  his  environment,  to  modify 
it  to  suit  his  needs  and  fancies,  and  virtually  to  recreate 
it.  We  shall  now  gain  a  clearer  conception  of  "  Nature  " 
by  contrasting  her  works  with  those  of  Art.  It  is  this 
contrast,  and  the  questions  growing  out  of  it,  that  form 
the  warp  and  woof  of  such  discussions  as  those  of  Joseph 
Payne  and  Herbert  Spencer.  These  writers  warn  us 
against  the  evils  that  have  been  brought  into  education 
through  man's  device,  and  pathetically  counsel  us  to  imi- 
tate "  the  methods  of  nature." 

If,  through  the  annihilation  of  the  human  race,  the 
earth  were  to  be  released  from  the  dominating  power  of 
man,  there  would  follow  a  gradual  relapse  to  the  "  state 
of  nature;"  and  all  that  would  be  lost  by  this  relapse 
represents  the  net  achievements  of  human  art.  By  this 
gradual  downward  transformation  the  earth  would  doubt- 
less be  better  adapted,  first,  to  semi-civilized  races,  then  to 
barbarous  people,  then  to  savages,  and,  finally,  to  brutes 
and  reptiles ;  but  if  it  were  again  to  be  prepared  for  the 
uses  of  civilized  man,  the  upward  transformation  must 
be  wrought  by  human  art.  In  these  discussions,  our 
point  of  departure  must  not  be  the  brute,  the  savage,  or 
the  barbarian,  but  the  civilized  man  of  modern  society. 
We  must  not  even  assume  that  the  savage  is  to  remain  a 
savage,  but  the  rather  that  he  is  to  be  transformed  into 
the  likeness  of  the  highest  type  of  his  kind.  Mere 
"  Nature,"  as  contrasted  with  Art,  can  never  effect  this 
transformation.  We  are  to  recollect  that  the  state  into 
which  the  children  of  modern  society  are  born  is  not  a 
"  state  of  nature,"  but  a  state  in  which  Art  is  at  least 
a  co-ordinate  factor  with  ''Nature."    Accepted  beliefs, 


OF  THE  TERMS   "NATURE"  AND   "NATURAL."         151 

social,  political,  and  religious,  formulated  truths  in  sci- 
ence, ready-made  languages  and  literatures,  are  just  as 
truly  a  part  of  the  child's  environment  as  atmosphere, 
soil,  and  climate. 

The  savage  is  a  typical  specimen  of  what  "  Nature  "  can 
do  in  the  line  of  educating,  and  I  know  no  fairer  concrete 
tost  of  the  good  and  bad  qualities  of  "Nature's  method" 
than  the  actual  mental  and  moral  state  of  the  savage. 
The  savage  is  truly  "Nature's"  own,  for  she  has  fash- 
ioned him  in  her  own  way.  He  has  not  been  spoiled  by 
the  arts  of  the-  priest,  the  politician,  the  tailor,  or  the 
teacher ;  or,  if  "  Nature's  "  methods  have  been  modified 
to  some  slight  extent  by  heredity  and  tradition,  this  in- 
terference is  not  sufficient  to  disguise  the  major  and  char- 
acteristic part  of  the  process.  To  one  who  would  pass 
from  poetry  to  science,  and  would  attain  to  clearness  of 
conception,  I  would  seriously  recommend  that  he  substi- 
tute for  the  vague  formula  "Follow Nature"  the  intelli- 
gible precept  "  Imitate  the  method  by  which  the  savage  is 
educated."  The  essential  facts  in  the  case  may  be  sum- 
marized as  follows : 

1.  To  use  Joseph  Payne's  phraseology,  these  chil- 
dren of  Nature  are  taught  by  object-lessons.  They  are 
instructed  through  a  process  of  sense-excitation.  There 
is  an  irregular  stimulation  of  the  sensibilities,  and  in  cer- 
tain directions  the  power  of  observation  attains  an  animal 
acuteness. 

2.  As  the  flow  of  mental  activity  is  mainly  outward, 
the  reflective  effort  is  correspondingly  weak,  and  all  real 
intellectual  effort  is  made  impossible  through  mental  las- 
situde. 

3.  It  goes  without  saying  that,  in  the  total  absence  of 
teachers,  schools,  and  books,  the  instruction  which  "Nat- 


153  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

lire"  furnishes  the  savage  is  wholly  concrete;  it  has  ref- 
erence to  individual  things,  and  is  addressed  directly  to 
the  senses. 

4.  As  "  Nature  "  proceeds  by  way  of  sense-stinmlation, 
and  as  wholeness  or  concretencss  is  essential  to  this 
end,  the  cavage  is  not  tanght  to  discriminate;  he  never 
makes  a  resolution  of  his  sense -intuitions.  In  other 
terms,  "Nature"  does  not  teach  her  pupils  to  think. 
The  savage  lives  in  the  hourly  presence  of  the  most 
striking  natural  phenomena,  but  he  never  learns  natural 
science.  In  this  respect  "  Nature  "  is  the  archetype  and 
original  of  all  poor  teachers.  She  constantly  dictates 
lessons  to  the  memory,  bnt  she  never  stimulates  the  un- 
derstanding. A  surfeit  of  things  is  just  as  easy  and  just 
as  bad  as  a  surfeit  of  words. 

5.  In  the  way  of  discipline,  the  savage  is  treated  with 
indiscriminating  and  heartless  severity.  In  all  her  retri- 
butions, "  Nature  "  is  pitiless  and  unforgiving ;  she  has 
no  "  bowels  of  compassion."  The  innocent  babe  has  no 
more  consideration  than  the  deliberate  villain.  "Nat- 
ure" never  excuses,  never  relents,  never  suspends  sen- 
tence. In  this  respect,  too,  she  is  the  archetype  and 
original  of  all  brutal  teachers. 

6.  As  the  net  result  of  the  training  which  the  savage 
receives  in  the  school  of  "  Nature,"  he  is  the  fit  compan- 
ion of  stocks  and  stones  and  brutes.  He  is  so  purely  a 
"natural"  product  that,  with  reference  to  his  environ- 
ment, action  and  reaction  are  nearly  equal.  His  power 
of  reaction  is  so  feeble  that  he  is  the  slave,  and  not  the 
master,  of  "Nature;"  and  no  radical  amendment,  in  his 
case,  is  possible  without  a  change  of  teachers. 

7.  As,  by  the  terms  of  the  new  mythology,  "Nature" 
is  a  teacher,  so,  of  course,  she  has  a  book,  "  the  book  of 


OF   THE  TERMS   "NATURE"   AND  "NATURAL."        153 

Nature,"  wliicli  the  poet  and  the  poetic  scientist  and  the 
glowing  reformer  bid  the  young  to  read.  How  does  it 
happen  that,  with  this  so-called  book  opened  before  hitn 
from  birth  till  death,  for  countless  generations,  the  sav- 
age, to  this  day,  has  not  learned  to  spell  out  the  first 
word  ?  Here,  again,  "  Nature  "  is  the  archetype  and  orig- 
inal of  inept  teachers.  Before  the  works  of  creation  can 
be  interpreted  and  admired,  there  must  be  a  long  course 
of  training  by  humane  teachers.  The  savage  is  a  chained 
prisoner  in  the  cavern-house  of  "  Nature,"  crippled  and 
blind  aud  stupid ;  from  this  bondage  he  must  be  released, 
even  by  violence,  if  needs  be ;  and,  after  he  has  been 
taught  to  discern  the  real  forms  of  truth  and  beauty,  he 
may  return  to  the  cavern,  and  interpret  the  shadows  that 
flit  across  the  prison  wall. 

To  the  question  how  far  we  should  imitate  the  mode  by 
which  the  savage  is  educated,  this  is  the  only  safe  re- 
sponse that  can  be  given  :  Only  so  far  as  the  child  re- 
semhles  tlie  savage,  and  so  far  as  the  child's  world  resem- 
hies  the  savage  state. 

The  savage  is  an  animal,  with  the  distant  possibility  of 
becoming  a  man;  in  civilized  society  the  infant  is  an 
animal,  with  the  near  certainty  of  becoming  a  man.  The 
initiatory  development  of  this  common  animal  element  is 
doubtless  through  a  process  of  sense-stimulation.  But,  to 
use  Plato's  imagery,  the  child  must  gradually  be  released 
from  the  toils  of  sense  by  being  taught  to  reflect,  to 
think,  and  to  reason.  "Nature"  is  as  powerless  to  do 
this  work  as  she  is  to  produce  an  edible  potato  or  to  con- 
struct a  telescope. 

The  child  is  born  into  a  world  that  has  been  rescued, 
in  part,  from  the  domination  of  "Nature,"  and  trans- 
formed by  human  art.      He  enters  this  reconstructed 

7* 


154  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

world  the  very  moment  he  becomes  distinctly  self-con- 
scious ;  and  from  that  moment  "  Nature's  "  indiscriminat- 
ing  and  lieartless  tuition  begins  to  wane,  and  man's  dis- 
criminating and  humane  tuition,  to  wax. 

From  the  moment  of  birth,  and  through  all  his  subse- 
quent years,  the  child  must  profit  from  vicarious  experi- 
ences. He  need  not  blister  his  little  lingers  in  order  to 
learn  that  fire  is  dangerous,  or  swallow  arsenic  to  prove 
that  it  is  poisonous,  or  travel  to  London  to  know  that 
there  is  such  a  city,  or  die  to  be  certain  that  he  is  mor- 
tal, or  run  a  course  of  vice  to  prove  that  it  is  ruinous. 
Neither  need  he  be  a  physician  in  order  to  enjoy  the  ad- 
vantages of  medical  science,  nor  a  lawyer  in  order  to  pro- 
tect his  civil  rights.  The  child  is  the  heir  of  all  the  ages. 
He  may  become  a  man  without  repeating  the  experi- 
ences of  the  savage  and  the  barbarian.* 

I  will  now  return  for  a  moment  to  the  narrower  con- 

*  "  Human  beings  alone,  as  Herder  has  said,  enjoy  the  possibility 
of  capitalizing  their  discoveries  and  of  adding  new  acquisitions  to 
their  more  ancient  acquisitions,  so  that  each  one  of  us  is  the  heir 
of  an  immense  stock  of  consecrations,  of  sacrifices,  of  experiences, 
of  reflections,  which  constitute  our  patrimony  and  connect  us  with 
the  past  and  with  the  future.  There  is  no  philosophy  more  super- 
ficial than  that  which,  taking  man  as  a  selfish  being,  and  interested 
only  in  what  pertains  to  his  own  life,  pretends  to  explain  him,  and 
to  trace  for  him  his  duties,  while  leaving  out  of  account  the  society 
of  which  he  forms  a  part.  As  well  consider  the  bee  apart  from  the 
hive,  and  say  that  by  itself  it  constructs  its  cell.  Humanity  is  an 
aggregate,  all  of  whose  parts  are  essentially  related  to  one  another. 
We  all  have  an  ancestry.  That  friend  of  truth  who  suffered  for  her 
centuries  ago  conquered  for  us  the  right  to  freedom  of  thought. 
It  is  to  a  long  seiies  of  worthy  and  obscure  generations  that  we  are 
indebted  for  a  country  and  for  civil  freedom."  —  Renan,  op.  cit., 
p.G. 


OF  THE  TERMS   "NATURE"  AND  "NATURAL."         155 

ception  of  "Nature"  and  "natural,"  as  wlien  wc  speak 
of  the  nature  of  water,  of  a  tree,  or  of  a  mineral.  The 
mind  has  its  own  nature  in  the  intelligible  sense  that  it 
is  endowed  M'ith  a  predetermined  and  uniform  mode  of 
activity.  Thus,  in  the  reaction  on  the  material  presented 
to  it,  the  first  effort  of  the  mind  is  towards  resolution  or 
disintegration,  and  the  succeeding  or  complementary  ef- 
fort is  towards  assimilation  or  integration ;  and  the  teach- 
er may  be  said  to  "  follow  nature  "  when  he  presents  ma- 
terial in  the  form  of  aggregates,  and  then  stimulates  the 
mind  to  resolution  and  assimilation.  Whether  the  pres- 
entation be  in  the  concrete  or  in  the  abstract,  it  is  equal- 
ly "natural," for  it  is  an  aggregate  that  permits  the  mind 
to  work  in  its  normal  way.  In  actual  practice,  this  is 
merely  a  question  of  ease  or  difficulty.  Each  moment  of 
his  life  the  child  is  confronted  with  purely  concrete  pres- 
entations, such  as  physical  phenomena,  which  he  is  utter- 
ly powerless  to  resolve,  while  at  the  same  time  he  finds 
it  easy  to  resolve  propositions  that,  to  a  considerable  de- 
gree, are  general  and  abstract. 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  seems  to  be  that 
the  education  of  a  human  being  is  jointly  natural  and  ar- 
tificial, and  that  errors  in  practice  come  from  an  extreme 
tendency  in  either  direction.  Education  must  respect 
the  laws  of  growth  that  are  immanent  in  the  child,  and 
must  be  guided  by  them.  To  this  extent  the  teacher 
should  "  follow  nature."  But,  in  the  matter  of  vicarious 
experience,  in  the  selection  of  matter  for  the  process  of 
mental  elaboration,  and  in  stimulating  the  effort  at  reso- 
lution and  assimilation,  we  find  a  wide  and  attractive 
field  for  the  display  of  tlie  teacher's  art.  Education  is 
not  a  process  of  laisser-faire^  but  oi  faire-faire. 

Tiie  distinction  between  nature  and  art  may  be  use- 


156  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

fill  for  purposes  of  discussion,  but  it  has  led  to  gross 
errors  in  theory,  and,  in  any  comprehensive  view  which 
we  may  take  of  life,  it  is  unfounded.  The  instinct  of 
the  bird  to  build  its  nest,  or  of  the  beaver  to  construct 
its  house,  is  natural ;  and  the  nest  and  house  are,  also, 
natural.  Is  not  man's  instinct  to  build  likewise  natural  ? 
and  is  not  his  house  as  much  a  "  work  of  nature"  as  the 
beaver's  house  ?  The  chirp  of  a  bird  and  the  growl  of  a 
beast  are  doubtless  natural.  Why  not  the  articulate 
speech  of  man  ?  How  did  it  come  to  pass  that  man  fell 
upon  the  art  of  writing,  unless  this  were  natural  to  him? 
The  squirrel  laj's  up  a  stock  of  nuts  in  store  for  winter, 
and  we  call'this  prevision  natural;  man  capitalizes  his 
acquirements  in  knowledge,  and  why  is  not  this  previs- 
ion, also,  natural  ?  The  only  essential  difference  in  the 
two  sets  of  cases  just  presented  is  that  the  prevision  of 
animals  is  instinctive,  while  in  man  this  prevision  is  the 
result  of  deliberate  calculation.  Is  deliberation,  there- 
fore, unnatural? 

If  the  view  here  taken  is  correct,  it  follows  that,  in  a 
philosophical  sense,  the  most  consummate  human  art  is 
etill  natural.  Under  this  view  we  can  subscribe  to  the 
dogma, "  Follow  "Nature." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  POTENCY  OF   IDEAS  AND   IDEALS. 

Without  using  the  terra  ideas  in  the  Platonic  sense,  as 
the  archetypes  of  created  tilings,  we  may  still  say  that 
fruitful  ideas  are  immortal ;  that  while  the  particular 
forms  in  which  they  have  been  embodied  may  disappear, 
the  content  persists,  and  will  reappear  in  other  forms,  and 
thus  maintain  a  continuity  of  existence.  Ideas,  such  as 
I  have  in  mind,  not  only  have  an  inherent  vitality,  but 
also  a  native  energy,  whereby  they  are  ever  striving  to 
embody  themselves  in  act.  The  artist  must  embody  his 
ideals  on  canvas  or  in  marble;  the  inventor  his  in  a  ma- 
chine; the  political  philosopher  his  in  a  model  republic; 
and  so  on  to  the  artisan,  who  fashions  his  work  according 
to  some  pre-existing  idea. 

Our  lives  are  unconsciously  moulded  by  our  ideas  and 
our  ideals.  We  are  ever  tending  to  grow  into  certain 
forms  that  have  been  impressed  on  our  minds  as  ideas. 
We  spend  our  lives  in  constructing,  and  we  construct  ac- 
cording to  models  and  patterns.  When  we  construct  ill, 
the  fault  is  oftener  in  our  models  than  in  our  fingers. 
The  cook  who  would  serve  us  a  toothsome  roast  must, 
first  of  all,  have  what  Plato  would  call  the  idea  of  a 
roast ;  and  not  only  this,  but,  once  having  a  clear  idea 
of  a  roast,  the  novice  will  be  able,  on  occasion,  to  make 
his  hands  execute  what  his  head  prescribes.  Whether 
we  are  to  paint  a  picture,  build  a  house,  teach  a  school, 
or  bake  a  biscuit,  the  first  condition  of  success  is  a  clear 


158  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

idea  of  tlie  thing  \vc  wish  to  do;  and  tlie  other  half  of 
this  truth  is  tliat,  once  having  such  ideas,  we  are  under  a 
virtual  compulsion  to  embody  them  in  act.  The  acquir- 
ing of  manual  dexterity  is  a  secondary  consideration, 
and,  in  the  learning  of  an  art,  is  wholly  subordinate  to 
the  formation  of  a  model  as  a  mental  image. 

The  view  opposed  to  this  is  the  stronghold  of  empiri- 
cism. "We  must  learn  to  swim  by  swimming,"  say  the 
practical  philosophers  whose  voices  are  now  loudest  in  the 
land.  "  We  must  learn  grammar  by  using  language,"  is 
another  form  of  this  popular  doctrine.  The  mischief 
done  by  such  dogmatists  lies  in  tlie  fact  that  these  dicta 
embody  one  phase  of  a  truth  while  concealing  a  comple- 
mentary phase.  We  have  the  authority  of  a  noted  cler- 
gyman for  saying  that  "a  half  truth  is  a  whole  lie." 
While,  in  all  constructive  efforts,  a  definite  idea  of  what 
is  to  be  done  is  the  first  condition  of  success,  a  second 
and  secondary  condition  is  the  empirical  effort.  My 
ground  of  dissent  from  the  "  practical "  view  is,  that  this 
empirical  effort  is  put  forward  as  the  prime  and  sufficient 
condition  of  success  in  construction.  One  might,  if  he 
were  stupid  or  obstinate,  learn  the  route  to  London  by 
going  there ;  but  the  prudent  traveller  would  form  a 
mental  trace  of  the  route  in  advance  as  the  only  means 
of  co-ordinating  and  economizing  his  efforts.  I  believe 
the  first  condition  of  success  in  the  work  of  education  is 
the  formation  of  distinct  and  adequate  ideas  of  what  it 
is  to  educate,  what  it  is  to  teach,  what  a  school  should 
do,  what  it  is  to  organize  and  to  govern,  etc.  One's 
own  experience  as  a  pupil,  and  the  observation  of  excel- 
lent educational  work,  will  furnish  the  teacher  with  val- 
uable ideas ;  but,  as  all  human  models  are  imperfect, 
there  must  be  formed  in  the  mind  of  the  teacher  an  ideal 


THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS.  159 

tjpe  of  excellence  far  superior  to  anything  tliat  offers  it- 
self to  the  observation,  and  even  far  beyond  anything 
that  is  actually  attainable  in  practice.  The  ideal  is  al- 
ways unattainable,  but  it  is  approachable ;  and  no  work 
above  mediocrity  is  possible  save  on  the  condition  of 
striving  towards  an  ideal. 

How  shall  the  teacher  form  the  ideals  that  are  required 
for  work  of  the  highest  quality  ?  This  I  believe  to  be  the 
fundamental  question  in  educational  progress.  If  by  any 
means  the  teachers  of  the  country  could  be  helped  to 
a  correct  notion  of  what  education  ought  to  be,  of  what 
mental  growth  really  is,  of  what  teaching  should  be,  a 
marked  advance  along  the  whole  line  would  be  assured. 

History  tells  us  what  education  has  been  ;  observation 
may  show  us  what  it  now  is ;  and,  by  the  comparison 
which  is  thus  made  possible,  we  may  discover  the  direc- 
tion of  progress,  and  thus,  at  least,  adumbrate  the  educa- 
tion of  the  future.  "We  still  need  a  third  point  towards 
which  we  may  project  the  lines  roughly  determined  by 
the  two  points  furnished  by  history  and  observation  ;  we 
still  need  an  ideal — a  conception  of  what  education  ought 
to  he.  This  ideal  must  be  a  mental  creation.  To  the 
notion  of  education  given  us  by  observation,  the  mind 
nmst  add  something  by  its  conceptive  power,  and  thus 
furnish  us  with  our  ideal.  The  constructive  imagination 
must  employ  materials  furnished  us  by  reflection.  Re- 
flection upon  what  ?  For  the  formation  of  the  ideal 
intellectual  education  we  must  reflect  on  the  facts  of 
mind  and  the  laws  of  its  activities.  In  this  way  we  can 
form  a  conception  of  what  mind  is  and  in  what  mental 
growth  consists ;  and,  by  an  easy  transition,  we  attain  our 
ideal  type  of  man  as  an  intellectual  being.  By  a  similar 
process  we  may  conceive  types  of  physical  and  moral  per- 


160  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

fection ;  and,  finally,  we  attain  our  ideal  of  man  as  he 
ougbt  to  be.  Now,  that  art  by  which  man  is  helped  to 
grow  into  the  type  of  his  kind  is  education  in  its  broad- 
est sense,  and  the  teacher's  education  that  does  not  end 
in  the  formation  of  such  an  ideal  fails  in  its  most  impor- 
tant purpose. 

In  the  last  analysis,  all  education  is  based  on  a  belief 
in  the  potency/  of  ideas.  "As  a  man  thinketh,  so  is  he," 
is  the  truest  of  educational  philosophy.  All  men  are 
governed  by  some  belief.  In  business,  in  professional, 
in  literary,  in  political,  in  religious  life,  and  equally  in  a 
life  of  leisure,  there  is  always  the  domination  of  ideas, 
or  the  directive  and  plastic  action  of  theory.  In  a  re- 
cent lecture  Mr.  Quick  has  said  :  "  Englishmen  in  gener- 
al, schoolmasters  in  particular,  seem  anxious  to  do  with- 
out theory.  Does  it  never  occur  to  them  that,  if  they 
are  afraid  of  theory,  they  must  do  without  science  and 
without  religion  ?  All  science  is  theory  in  one  sense  of 
the  word,  all  religion  is  theory  in  another  sense."  In 
moral  education,  the  first  essential  is  the  formation  of  a 
vivid  conception  of  the  ideal  life.  Then  we  have  some- 
thing to  aspire  after,  to  hope  for,  to  strive  for.  It  would 
be  the  saving  of  multitudes  of  the  young  if  they  had 
some  good  or  beautiful  thing  to  look  forward  to.  In 
later  life  we  will  endure  the  horrors  of  the  mal  de  mer 
if  we  may  see  London,  or  Paris,  or  Rome ;  and  many  a 
boy  might  go  bravely  through  his  declensions  and  con- 
jugations if  there  had  been  implanted  in  his  mind  the 
anticipated  delight  of  reading  the  ^neid  or  the  Iliad  in 
the  original.  An  idea  colored  with  emotion  becomes  a 
motive.  Motives  either  attract  or  propel,  and  the  great 
secret  of  education  is  to  transform  the  animal  into  a  man, 
by  implanting  in  him  a  proper  motive  of  the  attractive 


THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS.  161 

sort,  and,  finally,  by  investing  liini  with  the  power  to  de- 
termine for  himself  an  intellectnal  motive,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  merely  sensnous  impulse  that  governs 
the  animal. 

Or,  from  another  point  of  view,  the  problem  of  edu- 
cation may  be  stated  in  this  way :  To  secure  the  ready 
disintegration  of  mobs. 

A  Greek  proverb  says  ;  "  A  mob  has  no  brains ;"  the 
meaning  doubtless  being  either  that  the  only  brain  con- 
cerned is  that  of  the  leader,  or  that  the  units  composing 
the  mob  have  only  one  brain  in  common.  In  either  case, 
disintegration  will  come  the  moment  each  of  these  units 
can  determine  its  own  motive  instead  of  being  controlled 
by  a  motive  of  another's  imposition.  For  example,  in 
our  politics  there  is  a  large  mobile  element,  the  purchasa- 
ble factor,  that  has  aslittle  self-determining  power  as  the 
ballast  of  a  sailing-vessel.  Could  each  of  these  "elec- 
tors "  be  given  the  power  and  the  will  to  do  his  own 
thinking,  the  problem  of  political  education  would  be 
solved.  Which  is  better  for  the  citizen,  the  practical 
drill  of  the  "primaries,"  or  the  serious  reading  of  the 
"Eepublic"  and  the  "Laws"?  It  is  no  paradox  to  say 
that  we  should  learn  to  swim,  i.  e.,  form  an  idea,  pattern, 
or  theory  of  swimming,  before  we  plunge  into  the  water, 
to  the  end  that  we  may  safely  and  thoroughly  learn  the 
art  of  swimming.  In  other  words,  we  should  hnow,  to 
the  end  that  we  may  do.  First  the  head  and  then  the 
hand ;  finally,  the  hand  inspired  and  guided  by  the  head. 
In  going  from  the  old  faith  in  the  potency  of  ideas  and 
ideals  wre  have  degenerated.  We  are  following  false 
gods. 

Socrates  identified  knowledge  and  virtue,  holding  that, 
if  a  man  does  wrong,  it  is  because  lie  does  not  know  the 


163  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

consequence  of  his  proposed  line  of  conduct.  Tlie  latest 
of  modern  ethical  doctrines  is  to  the  effect  that  the  niere 
knowledge  of  what  is  right  has  but  little  effect  on  the 
doing  of  right ;  that  conduct  is  determined  mainly  by 
habit ;  that  ethical  precept  or  ethical  theory  is  of  but 
little  account;  but  that  ethical  practice  confirmed  into 
habits  of  right  living  is  the  only  valid  moral  training. 
And,  in  matters  other  than  ethical,  it  is  now  held  that 
tiieories  or  ideas  are  comparatively  impotent,  but  that 
experience  or  practice  is  the  main  essential.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  ancient  theory  and  the  modern  is  al- 
most world-wide,  and  in  this  instance  we  have  a  striking 
exemplification  of  the  fact  that  human  opinion  oscillates 
from  one  extreme  position  to  another,  the  periods  of  vi- 
bration sometimes  being  centuries.  No  one,  nowadays, 
holds  the  extreme  Socratic  doctrine.  It  omitted  to  take 
account  of  habit  and  heredity,  as  well  as  of  that  atrophy 
of  the  will  which  is  induced  by  intense  emotion.  The 
modern  doctrine  is  equally  partial  and  misleading;  it 
obscures  the  potent  influence  of  thought  upon  conduct, 
and  exaggerates  the  empirical  element  in  human  train- 
ing. The  ancient  doctrine  is  the  nobler  and  the  safer ; 
and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  underlies  most  of  the  modern 
systems  of  ethical  and  professional  instruction.  In  the 
sermon,  in  the  Sabbath-school  lesson,  in  the  law-school, 
in  the  medical  college,  and  even  in  schools  of  technolog}', 
the  Socratic  doctrine,  in  its  main  elements,  still  holds  the 
riirht  of  eminent  domain.  In  modern  education  it  is  a 
dominant  idea,  and  is  itself  a  curious  proof  of  the  po- 
tency of  ideas.  Our  reformers  insist  that  a  theory  of 
what  is  to  be  done  is  of  very  little  account ;  but  still  they 
feel  impelled  to  tell  us  that  the  old  theory  is  wrong,  and 
that  their   own    theory  is  to  be  preferred.     They  in- 


THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS.  163 

voke  the  potency  of  ideas  to  disprove  the  potency  of 
ideas ! 

Men  are  sometimes  said  to  be  possessed  of  an  idea,  the 
meaning  doubtless  being  that  a  thouglit  has  been  sharply 
defined,  and  that  this  sharpness  of  definition  has  excited 
a  strong  emotion,  so  that  the  activities  are  now  turned 
towards  a  determined  object.  Religions  or  philosophi- 
cal or  political  propagandism  illustrates  possession  by  a 
dominant  idea.  And  what  is  prejudice  but  the  domi- 
nant power  of  an  idea  ?  And  what  truer  account  can  wo 
give  of  the  mechanism  of  envy,  jealousj-,  malice,  resent- 
ment, etc.,  than  to  say  that  in  each  case  a  dominant  idea 
lias  excited  a  strong  emotion,  and  that  this  emotion  serves 
as  a  stimulus  to  action  ?  And  what  is  insanity  or  mono- 
mania but  an  extreme  case  of  possession  by  an  idea? 
Ascending  now  to  the  higher  regions  of  thought  and 
emotion,  what  is  the  highest  virtue  but  the  highest  con- 
ception of  duty,  accompanied  by  the  stimulus  of  an  ex- 
alted emotion  ?  The  best  man  is  he  who  has  the  highest 
and  clearest  conception  of  what  he  ought  to  do  and  to 
be,  and  then  turns  all  his  activities  towards  the  attain- 
ment of  the  ends  discerned  by  the  intellect.  The  clear 
definition  of  an  ideal  is  the  most  potent  factor  in  moral 
training.*  The  strength  of  Christianity  lies  in  this  fact. 
No  other  religion  presents  such  an  exalted  ideal  of  moral 
excellence,  and  the  Christian  life  is  an  illustration  of  the 
potency  of  ideas.     In  art,  the  truth  just  alleged  is  so  ob- 

*  "Every  one  of  us  lias  within  him  an  ideal  man,  which  he 
strives,  from  Ms  youth  upward,  to  cherish  or  to  subdue.  .  .  .  But 
the  ideal  man  comes  upon  the  earth  as  an  anthropolithe  (a  petri- 
fied man) ;  to  break  this  stony  covering  away  from  so  many  limbs 
that  the  rest  can  liberate  themselves,  this  is,  or  should  be,  educa- 
tion."— Richter,  op.  cit.,  p.  35. 


164  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

vions  as  to  make  formal  mention  of  it  almost  unneces- 
sary. The  skill  of  the  painter  or  sculptor  is  not  so  much 
in  the  deft  hand  as  in  the  vivid  and  trained  imagination. 
The  true  artist  is  possessed  by  his  ideals.  The  necessary 
antecedent  to  the  production  of  what  is  beautiful  is  the 
conception  of  the  beautiful.  Not  only  this,  but  a  vivid 
conception  of  the  beautiful  will,  by  a  fundamental  law 
of  nature,  embody  itself  in  artistic  creation.  Artistic 
training  is  an  affair  of  the  head  rather  than  of  the  hand. 
It  is  the  prerogative  of  spirit  to  impress  its  forms  upon 
matter;  nay,  more,  it  is  the  law  of  spirit — not  mayy  but 
•must. 

In  some  cases  we  can  eliminate  the  manual  element  in 
training  from  the  mental  element.  In  penmanship,  for 
example,  the  right  hand  may  alone  have  been  actually 
trained  in  writing,  but,  on  occasion,  the  left  hand  will 
trace  the  letters  without  any  previous  empirical  training. 
Whence  came  this  ability?  Evidently  from  the  formal 
intelligence.  The  whole  process  might  be  briefly  de- 
scribed as  follows  :  Through  the  sense  of  sight  the  forms 
of  letters  are  impressed  on  the  mind ;  these  forms  are 
reproduced  by  the  right  hand ;  this  reproduction  by  the 
hand  reacts  on  the  mind  in  the  way  of  sharper  defini- 
tion ;  and,  finally,  this  sharpness  of  definition  gives  im- 
mediate skill  to  the  left  hand.  In  the  region  of  manual 
training  this  case  exhibits  the  potency  of  ideas.  It  also 
exhibits  whatever  truth  there  is  in  the  latest  educational 
cant,  "  We  learn  to  do  by  doing."  In  all  rational  prac- 
tice the  antecedent  to  doing  is  knowing.  No  one  but 
the  veriest  quack  will  set  about  the  doing  of  a  task  with- 
out having  previously  formed  a  mental  conception  of 
end  and  means.  Every  man  who  has  a  mind  of  normal 
power  holds  a  theory  of  life;  he  has  formed  a  concep- 


THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS.  1G5 

tion,  more  or  less  definite,  of  what  human  life  ought  to 
be ;  and  then  his  main  activities  are  co-ordinated,  in  some 
degree,  towards  the  attainment  of  his  ideal.  It  has  been 
well  said  that  every  man  must  philosophize ;  it  should 
also  be  said  that  every  man  is  bound,  by  a  dominant  law 
of  his  nature,  to  follow  the  precepts  of  Iiis  philosophy. 
Wherever,  in  the  conduct  of  life,  there  is  an  observed 
discrepancy  between  theory  and  practice,  it  will  be  found 
that  the  dominant  theory  is  not  the  one  that  is  pro- 
fessed. 

Historical  illustrations  of  the  potency  of  ideas  may  be 
found  on  every  hand.  Perliaps  the  most  striking  is  what 
is  known  as  the  "  Holy  Roman  Empire."  It  has  been 
described  as  "that  idea,  that  belief,  created  by  memory 
and  imagination,  which  acted  as  one  of  the  great  forces 
to  prevent  Europe  from  splitting  into  fragments.  By 
persuading  men  that  they  all  still  belonged  to  one  com- 
mon whole,  it  served  as  an  artificial  bond  of  union  at  a 
time  when  a  bond  of  union  of  some  sort  was  most  vitally 
necessary.  It  exercised  as  strong  a  control  over  the  men 
of  those  generations  as  the  most  stubborn  facts  could 
have  done."  *  What  has  preserved  the  essential  integ- 
rity of  the  Jewish  nation  through  so  many  centuries  of 
dispersion  and  disaster?  Evidently  nothing  but  a  domi- 
nant idea.  Catholicism,  Jesuitism,  Protestantism,  arc 
illustrations  of  the  same  truth. 

The  educational  bearings  of  this  doctrine  are  readily 
discerned.  If  ideas,  ideals,  beliefs,  conceptions,  hypoth- 
eses, have  the  potency  that  is  here  claimed  for  them,  it 
follows  that  very  much  of  the  clamor  now  heard  in  be- 
half of  "practical"  education  is  ill-advised  and  unneces- 
sary. For  all  varieties  of  human  labor,  a  sound  mental 
*  G.  B.  Adams. 


16G  SCIENCE   OF  EDUCATION. 

training  is  a  necessary  prerequisite.  Witli  this  general 
preparation,  an  art  that  cliiefly  involves  manual  dexter- 
ity is  best  learned  by  the  practical  imitation  of  good 
models;  but  a  liberal  art,  or  one  which  chiefly  involves 
tlie  exercise  of  judgment,  discrimination,  versatility,  taste, 
tact,  ingenuity,  etc.,  is  best  learned  by  mastering  its  the- 
or}'.  In  all  such  cases  the  schools  should  furnish  pupils 
with  a  science,  and  out  of  this  science  each  one  may  be 
left  to  evolve  his  special  art.  In  other  words,  a  law 
school,  a  medical  school,  or  a  normal  school  is  true  to  its 
proper  function  when  it  communicates  a  body  of  doc- 
trine. The  sciences  thus  learned  will  be  converted  into 
arts  on  the  occasion  of  experience.  In  all  instruction  of 
this  kind  the  essential  thing  is  accuracy,  clearness,  defi- 
niteness.  When  this  has  been  attained  by  a  mind  of 
normal  robustness  and  alertness,  the  conversion  of  poten- 
tial into  actual  power  is  not  attended  with  any  serious 
difiiculty.  This  doctrine  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the 
education  of  teachers.  Some  arts  are  purely  mental,  as 
poetry;  others  are  almost  purely  muscular,  as  mining; 
and  still  others  involve  both  mental  and  muscular  dex- 
terities, as  music  and  sculpture.  Preparation  for  arts  of 
the  first  class  is  purely  mental ;  for  arts  of  the  second 
class,  almost  purely  manual ;  and  for  the  third  class,  men- 
tal and  muscular  jointly.  Teaching  proper  is  an  art  al- 
most as  purely  mental  as  poetry.  The  training  of  teach- 
ers has  often  been  likened  to  the  training  of  sculptors. 
Nothing  but  persistent  practice,  it  is  said,  can  give  the 
sculptor  the  muscular  deftness  that  his  art  requires.  But 
the  analogy  between  these  two  arts  does  not  lie  in  this 
direction.  The  teaching  art  does  not  require  manual  or 
muscular  dexterity.  The  analogy  is  wholly  on  the  men- 
tal side,  as  the  most  necessary  endowment  of  both  teach- 


THE  POTENCY  OF  IDEAS  AND  IDEALS.  167 

ei*  and  artist  is  a  vivid  ideal  of  what  is  to  be  done. 
Doubtless  there  will  always  bo  much  teaching  that  is  so 
spiritless  as  to  be  in  a  certain  sense  mechanical,  and  I 
fear  that  the  method  of  training  teachers  that  is  most 
approved  has  a  direct  tendency  to  mechanize  this  art; 
but  I  write  in  behalf  of  teaching  as  a  spiritual  art,  and 
80  I  counsel  a  different  mode  of  prepariation. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
"PROCEED  FROM  THE  KNOWN  TO  THE  UNKNOWN." 

I  HAVE  selected  for  examination  one  of  the  most 
plausible  of  the  so  -  called  "  Pestalozzian  Principles." 
Many  teachers  have  accepted  this  as  a  simple  axiom  ; 
such  will  think  it  absurd  to  attempt  a  critical  examina- 
tion of  it.  If  this  were  an  axiom,  it  would  certainly  be 
absurd  to  discuss  its  truth  ;  and  so  I  will  begin  by  assert- 
ing that  this  well-worn  "  principle"  is  a  bit  of  educa- 
tional cant  that  passes  current  to  save  the  labor  of  think- 
ing. Axioms  that  are  not  axiomatic  arrest  thought ; 
they  foster  the  delusion  that  a  method  has  received  its 
final  justification  when  it  has  been  shown  to  be  consist- 
ent with  one  of  these  assumed  principles.  The  mischief 
lies  in  the  fact  that  these  maxims  are  partly  true  and 
partly  false.  In  some  cases  they  lead  us  to  the  truth, 
and  in  others  they  betray  us  into  error. 

This  maxim  is  often  employed  to  justify  the  construct- 
ive or  synthetic  method  of  teaching  geography,  accord- 
ing to  which  the  pupil  proceeds  from  school-yard  to  town- 
ship, from  township  to  county,  from  county  to  state, 
from  state  to  nation,  from  nation  to  continent,  from  con- 
tinent to  hemisphere,  and  finally  to  the  globe.  But,  if  an 
undoubted  psychological  law  can  be  trusted,  this  specious 
method  is  false,  is  absolutely  without  scientific  justifica- 
tion. My  faith  in  a  psychological  law  is  much  stronger 
than  my  faith  in   this  educational  axiom  ;  therefore  I 


•'PROCEED  FROM  TUE  KNOWN  TO  THE  UNKNOWN."    169 

suspect  that  we  have  to  do  with  an  axiom  that  is  not 
wholly  axiomatic.  From  my  point  of  view,  then,  this 
examination  is  not  absurd. 

The  "genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  race"  lias  been  a 
favorite  starting-point  with  the  educational  philosophers 
who  make  a  liberal  use  of  this  axiom.  Now  it  must  be 
apparent  that,  with  the  race,  the  genesis  of  knowledge 
must  have  been  from  the  unknown  to  the  known  ;  for 
each  individual  of  the  race  had  nothing  in  the  line  of 
knowledge  to  begin  with,  and  so  mnst  have  proceeded 
from  the  unknown  to  the  known.  This  primal  experi- 
ence is  typical  of  the  experiences  that  follow  in  the 
life  of  the  child;  for  a  considerable  time  passes  before 
the  old  is  recognized  in  the  new  to  a  degree  sufficient  to 
fall  within  the  compass  of  this  rule.  The  child  is  ever 
encountering  new  sensations;  but  as  these  are  simple, he 
derives  no  help  from  previous  sensations.  In  his  knowl- 
edge of  objects,  the  general  process  is  still  the  same;  each 
new  object  is  a  new  unknown.  It  may  be  composed  of 
parts  that  are  really  contained  in  objects  previously 
known ;  but,  as  first  impressions  are  always  confused, 
these  parts  are  as  yet  not  discriminated,  and  so  cannot  be 
used  to  analyze  the  new  unknown. 

Again,  in  this  course  of  unconscious  tuition,  the  learn- 
ing of  elements  or  parts  is  always  subsequent  to  the 
learning  of  aggregates  or  wholes.  Definitude,  as  Hamil- 
ton has  observed,  is  not  the  first  but  the  last  term  of  our 
cognitions.*  It  is  only  in  a  mature  period  of  culture 
that  the  knowledge  of  elements  is  sufficient  to  permit  a 
prompt  resolution  of  the  new  into  the  old.  Childhood 
is  well  over  before  the  resolution  of  the  confused  into 
the  definite  is  well  begun.    One  half  of  thinking  is  men- 

•  "  Metaphysics,"  p.  498. 
'8 


170  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tal  disintegration — the  reaction  of  the  mind  in  the  way 
of  analysis  upon  complex  presentations ;  so  that  if,  before 
tlie  presentation  is  made,  its  elements  are  already  in  the 
mind,  the  tension  of  thought  is  low.  To  think  vigor- 
ousl}'',  there  must  be  some  resistance ;  but  resistance  be- 
comes less  as  analysis  becomes  easier ;  and  analysis  grows 
easy  in  proportion  as  elements  admit  of  quick  discern- 
ment. 

If,  then,  the  dogma,  "  Proceed  from  the  known  to  the 
unknown,"  means  that  the  pupil  should  master  the 
elements  of  a  complex  notion  before  the  notion  itself 
has  been  presented,  it  is  unsound  from  two  points  of 
view : 

1.  It  is  in  direct  conflict  Avith  a  normal  law  of  mental 
growth,  a  law  that  is  stated  by  Hamilton  as  follows: 
"  The  first  procedure  of  the  mind  in  the  elaboration  of 
its  knowledge  is  always  analytical.  It  descends  from 
the  whole  to  its  parts,  from  the  vagne  to  the  definite." 

2.  In  consequence  of  a  violation  of  this  law,  this  dog- 
ma, interpreted  as  above,  absolves  from  the  necessity  of 
thinking.  Indeed,  when  I  think  on  the  possible  conse- 
quences of  such  a  doctrine,  I  feel  glad  that  this  dogma 
can  neither  be  interpreted  nor  applied.  How  happily 
hopeless  the  case  is,  we  may  judge  from  Mr.  Bain's  fruit- 
less struggle  with  this  "  favorite  maxim  of  the  teaching 
art."* 

So  far  as  I  am  able  to  interpret  the  facts  of  mental 
progression,  the  normal  sequence  is  as  follows  :  In  in- 
fancy, from  the  unknown  to  the  imperfectly  known  ;  in 
childhood,  from  the  imperfectly  known  to  the  better 
known ;  in  maturity,  from  the  better  known  to  the  well 
known.  With  respect  to  the  resolution  of  presentations, 
*  "Education  as  a  Science," p.  128. 


♦'  PROCEED  FROM  THE  KNOWN  TO  THE  UNKNOWN."    171 

the  case  seeras  to  stand  thus :  in  mere  infancy,  this  reso- 
lution is  impossible;  in  childhood,  it  is  difficult;  in  ma- 
turity, it  is  easy.  In  order  to  maintain  a  normal  tension 
of  thinking,  there  should  be  this  gradation  in  presenta- 
tions :  in  childliood,  thej'  should  be  of  easy  resolution ;  in 
maturity,  of  difficult  resolution.  With  increase  of  power 
there  should  be  increase  of  difficulty.  Milo,  the  weak- 
ling, lifted  the  calf;  Milo,  the  athlete,  lifted  the  ox.* 
If  the  maxim  we  are  discussing  means  this,  it  expresses 
a  great  truth  that  all  can  understand  and  apply. 

In  further  illustration  of  my  subject,  let  me  refer  to 
what  I  think  is  the  history  of  this  maxim.  In  his  at- 
tempt to  decipher  the  hieroglyphic  inscription  on  the 
Rosetta  Stone,  Champollion  had  the  aid  of  neither  dic- 
tionary nor  grammar.  He  was  confronted  with  the  ab- 
solutely unknown  ;  but  such  was  his  acuteness  that  he 
resolved  this  riddle,  and  so  made  it  easy  to  read  other  in- 
scriptions of  this  kind.  Now  I  submit  that,  in  a  school 
of  Champollions,  work  of  this  type  is  not  only  proper, 
but  is  the  very  best  that  can  be  devised ;  on  the  hypoth- 
esis, of  course,  that  the  first  essential  in  education  is  dis- 
cipline or  training,  rather  than  the  gaining  of  knowledge 
that  can  be  readily  converted  into  money  or  bread.  But 
as  the  pupils  in  our  schools  are  not  Champollions,  I  hasten 
to  say  that  the  tasks  we  prescribe  should  not  be  Rosetta 
Stones.  Still,  I  think  this  may  very  well  be  taken  as  the 
type  of  work  that  is  best  for  the  purposes  of  the  highest 
discipline ;  and,  by  making  successive  additions  of  known 
elements,  this  may  be  the  type  of  work  best  suited  to  the 
needs  of  pupils  in  a  descending  scale  of  ability.     If  we 

*  "  Milo,  having  been  accustomed  to  carry  the  same  calf  every 
day,  ended  by  carrying  a  bull." — Quintilian,  "Institutes,"  i,,  9,  5. 


172  SCIENCE   OF  EDUCATION. 

reflect  on  the  two  cases,  we  shall  sec  tliat  a  page  of  tlie 
primer  is  to  the  child  about  what  a  face  of  the  Kosetta 
Stone  was  to  CliampoUion.  In  both  cases,  the  vagne  un- 
known must  be  resolved  into  the  definite  known  ;  and,  in 
both  cases,  the  elements  that  come  from  the  disintegra- 
tion of  a  few  aggregates  become  the  keys  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  other  aggregates.  Relatively  considered, 
tiie  child's  task  is  the  greater;  but,  by  supplementing 
liis  weaker  ability,  he  succeeds  in  doing  Champoliion^s 
work, 

Now,  let  us  imagine  a  case  somewhat  more  difficult. 
Suppose  CliampoUion  had  been  set  to  learn  the  sacred 
language  of  Egypt  from  a  grammar  written  in  Demotic; 
that  is,  suppose  an  unknown  language  must  be  learned 
by  means  of  a  book  written  in  a  language  equally  un- 
known. It  is  still  conceivable  that  the  acuteness  of  a 
Champollion  might  penetrate  this  double  obscurity ;  but 
the  difficulties  of  the  case  are  too  formidable  to  furnish 
us  with  a  type  for  school  work. 

In  reality,  this  supposed  case  is  very  like  the  actual 
case  of  learning  Latin  from  a  grammar  written  in  Latin. 
Up  to  the  time  of  Comenius  (1592-1G71),  this  was  the 
current  practice ;  and  one  of  the  reforms  attenipted  by 
Comenius  consisted  in  teaching  Latin  through  the  ver- 
nacular ;  that  is,  a  known  language  should  be  the  me- 
dium for  learning  an  unknown  language.  And  so  we 
have  this  principle  of  teaching:  ^^  Nature  proceeds  from 
the  more  easy  to  the  raore  difficult.  TVe  find  Latin  rules 
taught  in  Latin — the  unknown  by  the  equally  unknown 
and  many  other  faults  which  will  be  amended  if  (1)  the 
teacher  speak  the  same  vernacular  as  the  boy ;  (2)  if  all 
explanations  of  things  be  given  in  a  known  tongue;  (3) 
if  every  grammar  and  lexicon  be  adapted  to  that  tongue 


"PROCEED   FROM  THE  KNOWN  TO  THE   UNKNOWN."  173 

{i.  e.,  the  vernacular)  by  means  of  which  the  new  is  to 
be  learned."  * 

I  believe  that  the  fact  just  related,  tliat  an  unknown 
language  was  taught  by  means  of  a  language  equally  un- 
known, rather  than  through  the  vernacular,  gave  rise  to 
this  famous  maxim, "  From  the  known  to  the  unknown." 
The  maxim  was  made  to  govern  special  cases — the  learn- 
ing of  new  languages — and,  when  limited  to  these  cases, 
it  was  eminently  wise'and  useful;  but  when  it  was  nmde 
to  cover  the  whole  field  of  teaching,  it  became  what  we 
see  it  to  be  to-day,  nonsense  and  cant.  Tlie  history  of 
this  maxim  is  only  one  illustration  of  the  vice  of  mere 
enthusiasts — catching  up  a  method  that  is  good  in  special 
cases,  and  then  putting  it  on  the  market  as  a  method  of 
universal  application.  A  specific  becomes  a  panacea. 
Object- teaching  and  the  monitorial  system  are  other  il- 
lustrations of  this  vicious  generalization. 

The  danger  of  tlioughtlessly  accepting  a  specious  gen- 
eralization has  been  admirably  pointed  out  by  Degerando 
as  follows:  "Nothing  comes  nearer  ignorance  of  a  prin- 
ciple than  its  excessive  generalization.  The  imagination 
receives  it  from  the  hands  of  the  genius  that  discovered 
it  and  carries  it  in  triumph  to  the  very  summit  of  our 
knowledge,  thus  giving  it  a  jurisdiction  without  limits. 
Then  mental  indolence  and  vanity  conspire  with  the  im- 
agination to  perpetuate  this  usurpation.  It  is  so  easy 
and  so  beautiful  to  explain  everything  by  a  common  so- 
lution, and  to  need  but  one  fact  in  order  to  know,  or  at 
least  to  seem  to  know,  everything !  There  is  a  fashion 
in  opinions  as  well  as  in  dress."  f 

*  Laurie,  "Life  of  Comenins"  (London,  1881),  p.  91. 
t  J.  M.  Degerando,  "  Dcs  Signes  et  de  I'Art  de  Peuser "  (Paris, 
An.  Vin.),  vol.  i.,  p.  XX. 


174  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

I  do  not  believe  this  dogma  can  be  employed  with  any 
certainty,  save  in  cases  Avhere  language  is  the  medium  of 
instruction.  Thought  cannot  be  conveyed,  but  only  in- 
duced or  provoked ;  and  so  there  can  be  no  communica- 
tion between  one  mind  and  another,  unless  the  symbols 
employed  as  the  medium  of  communication  are  mutually 
understood.  The  common  ground  on  which  pupil  and 
teacher  stand  is  the  vernacular,  the  known  ;  and  starting 
from  this  common  ground,  the  pupil  may  compass  suc- 
cessive portions  of  the  unlcnown. 

The  wide  currency  given  to  this  dogma  is,  doubtless, 
due  to  the  prevailing  assumption  that  the  child's  knowl- 
edge should  be  built  up  synthetically,  starting  with  known 
elements  and  constructing  them  into  aggregates.  This 
assumption  is  baseless,  the  normal  sequence  being  from 
aggregates  to  elements  or  parts.  If  this  maxim  ran  be 
construed  to  mean  that  an  aggregate  of  easy  resolution 
should  be  mastered  as  a  means  of  resolving  a  higher  ag- 
gregate, then  it  is  true ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to  think 
that  it  is  thus  construed. 

In  conclusion,  my  objections  to  this  "favorite  maxim 
of  the  teaching  art "  are  as  follows : 

1.  It  was  framed  for  special  cases,  but  has  been  gen- 
eralized to  cover  all  cases.  It  should  be  restricted  to  a 
little  more  than  its  original  compass. 

2.  In  its  present  state  it  is  ambiguous,  vague,  in  many 
cases  of  uncertain  application,  and  in  others,  impossible 
to  apply  (Bain,  loc.  cit).  ■ 

3.  It  is  a  warrant  for  the  constructive  or  synthetic 
method  of  instruction,  as  in  geography. 


CHAPTER  X. 
TRIBUTE  TO  FETICH  WORSHIP. 

Of  late,  conntless  clianges  liave  been  rung  on  the 
"college  fetich,"  and  the  lamentations  over  the  years 
wasted  in  classical  study  have  been  very  pathetic.  From 
the  village  schoolmaster,  who  decries  that  to  which  he 
never  can  attain,  to  the  college  president,  who  would 
place  himself  en  rapport  with  the  mobile  and  dissatisfied 
public,  we  have  had  countless  homilies  on  a  reform  in 
the  college  curriculum  which  should  exalt  the  living  over 
the  dead,  and  thus  train  the  better  spirits  of  the  age  into 
fitness  for  the  real  duties  of  this  working-day  world. 
There  is  no  field  of  discussion  where  it  is  so  easy  to  en- 
list the  sympathies  and  excite  the  prejudices  of  the  un- 
lettered and  uncritical  public.  Life  two  thousand  years 
ago,  with  its  worship  of  heathen  divinities,  barbarous  lan- 
guages horrid  with  grammatical  subtilties,  all  this  is 
brought  into  pitiable  contrast  with  the  robust  freshness 
of  modern  life,  its  elegant  literatures,  its  exalted  ethics, 
its  political  freedom,  and  its  thousand  charms  due  to  the 
ameliorations  of  modern  science.  The  only  wonder  is 
that  so  little  use  has  been  made  of  these  obvious  con- 
trasts. On  this  theme  every  debating  society  in  the  land 
might  be  the  nightly  scene  of  fervid  eloquence  and  tri- 
umphant victory,  if  only  the  "  college  fetich  "  could  find 
a  champion. 

The  surprising  thing  is   that,  while  the  arguments 


176  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

against  the  study  of  the  classics  are  so  readily  marshalled, 
and,  in  appearance  at  least,  are  so  formidable,  the  colleges 
continue  in  the  old  bad  way  with  placid  indifference,  and 
the  students  of  the  better  mental  endowment,  and  with 
the  truer  scholarly  instincts,  show  a  scarcely  abated  zeal 
for  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  languages  and 
literatures.  What  I  have  particularly  observed  in  one 
institution  of  learning  I  believe  to  be  true  of  similar  in- 
stitutions at  home  and  abroad ;  that  the  classical  coui-ses 
are  at  least  fairly  holding  their  own,  and  that  the  shift- 
ing that  occurs  from  one  course  to  another  is  generally 
towards  the  Ph.  B.  and  A,  B.  courses.  As  it  seems  to  me, 
classical  teachers  have  been  needlessly  alarmed  as  to  the 
future  status  of  classical  learning.  They  have  been  de- 
ceived by  the  noise  and  demonstration  of  the  assault; 
but  they  have  no  just  cause  for  alarm,  provided  they 
make  instruction  in  the  classics  consist  not  principally  in 
the  niceties  and  details  of  the  grammar,  but  in  catching 
the  spirit  and  tasting  the  flavor  of  the  classical  litera- 
tures. Literature  is  the  end ;  grammar  chiefly  the  means. 
The  "Commentaries"  are  to  be  read  not  as  the  means 
of  teaching  the  nature  of  the  gerundive,  the  ablative  ab- 
solute, and  indirect  discourse,  but  as  the  means  of  bring- 
ing the  mind  of  the  student  into  intimate  communion 
with  the  thoughts  and  deeds  of  the  ablest  captain,  thinker, 
and  writer  of  his  age,  or  any  age  before  or  since.  Classical 
instruction,  to  hold  its  own,  must  have  constant  reference 
to  "  those  large  utterances  of  the  early  gods,"  and  con- 
siderably less  to  the  mysteries  of  the  ethical  dative  and  the 
subscript  iota.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  at  least  this  lesson 
has  been  taught  by  the  disciples  of  a  modern  culture. 

No  one  denies  that  the  ancient  college  curriculum 
should  be  considerably  modified  in  order  to  adjust  itself 


TRIBUTE  TO  FETICH  WORSHIP.  177 

to  the  present  state  of  human  learning.  An  education 
cxchisivelj  classical  and  mathematical  is  not,  for  a  scholar 
of  this  generation,  a  liberal  education;  neither  is  a  man 
liberally  educated  whose  training  has  been  mainly  in 
mathematics,  modern  languages,  and  natural  science.  If 
we  adopt  a  distinction  made  by  Doctor  Whewell,  the 
basis  of  a  liberal  education  should  be  the  "  permanent 
studies,"  ^.  e.,  those  that  have  received  their  final  form, 
such  as  the  classical  languages,  certain  parts  of  physics, 
deductive  logic,  etc.,  but  should  also  include  selections 
from  the  "  progressive  studies,"  i.  e.,  those  now  in  process 
of  formation,  such  as  modern  languages,  the  inductive 
sciences,  etc.  The  former  studies  connect  us  with  the 
past,  while  the  latter  interest  us  in  the  present  and  the 
future;  and  by  their  joint  influence  the  student  is  made 
to  participate  in  the  conscious  life  of  the  race. 

One  of  the  most  common,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  one 
of  the  most  specious,  objections  to  classical  study  is  to 
this  effect:  "After  a  student  has  been  from  college  for 
only  a  few  years,  what  has  he  to  show  for  his  six  j'ears' 
toil  over  his  Latin  and  Greek?  He  will  not  venture  to 
translate  an  '  unseen,'  and  is  ill  at  ease  if  confronted 
with  the  well-thumbed  texts  of  iiis  college  days.  Of 
what  use  is  it  to  learn  at  such  great  cost  what  is  so  soon 
forgotten  ?"  The  same  things  might  be  said  of  all  studies 
that  are  not  kept  bright  by  daily  use.  Who  that  has 
mastered  Euclid  can,  after  five  years'  absence  from  col- 
lege, give  an  impromptu  demonstration  of  even  a  simple 
proposition  ?  Yet  this  fact  does  not  in  the  least  degree 
impeach  the  worth  of  mathematical  training.  This  is  a 
formal  science,  and,  while  the  matter  may  have  disap- 
peared, the  effect  of  the  study  accompanies  each  intel- 
lectual act.    In  the  region  of  taste,  classical  study  is  for- 


178  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

mative  in  as  true  a  sense  and  in  as  great  a  degree  as  in 
the  ease  jnst  cited  ;  and  if  we  admit,  as  we  tliink  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  the  better  lialf  of  culture  is  concerned 
witli  taste,  feeling,  and  emotion,  it  follows  that  the  classics 
are  culture  subjects  in  a  pre-eminent  degree.  So  far  is 
it  from  being  true  tliat  the  value  of  a  subject  for  pur- 
poses of  culture  can  be  tested  bj  the  residue  held  in  the 
memory,  that  it  may  the  rather  be  affirmed  that  knowl- 
edge can  be  transformed  into  faculty,  power,  taste,  and 
character,  only  on  the  condition  that  it  shall  lose  its  iden- 
tity. 

Of  course,  this  line  of  thought  brings  us  into  that  re- 
gion where  the  examiner's  direct  methods  will  always 
fail  him.  The  scientific  mind,  that  tests  all  things  by 
rule  and  balance,  would  also  find  some  sensible  test  for 
culture,  and  when  he  fails  in  this,  as  from  the  nature  of 
the  case  he  always  must  fail,  he  at  once  concludes  that 
what  he  does  not  find  is  non-existent.  Tliere  is  no  direct 
examination  test  for  culture.  All  that  is  possible  in  these 
liigher  regions  is  to  infer  the  fact  of  culture  from  certain 
kinds  of  aliment  that  have  been  found  to  produce  it. 
An  examiner  can  readily  discern  whether  the  student 
can  interpret  the  language  of  Homer  and  Yergil,  and  to 
w^hat  degree  he  enters  into  the  spirit  of  these  poems — 
these  are  the  palpable  results  of  the  inquest ;  but  whetlier 
this  knowledge  has  passed  its  final  transformation  into 
taste  and  poetic  insight  is  a  matter  of  inference — the  prod- 
uct, though  real  and  of  superlative  worth,  is  impalpable. 
Richter  has  said, "  Do  not  in  the  least  degree  support  re- 
ligion and  morality  by  reasons;  even  the  multitude  of 
pillars  darken  and  contract  churches." 

It  may  be  that  the  highest  forms  of  intellectual  cnlt- 
nre  are  akin  to  religion  and  morality  in  respect  of  their 


TRIBUTE  TO  FETICH   WORSHIP.  179 

verification,  and  that  this  fact  will  explain  tlic  little  that 
has  been  gained  in  the  classical  controversy  by  mere  ar- 
gnmentation.  Sentiment  is  often  snrer  in  its  aim  and 
swifter  in  its  course  than  the  cold  logic  of  the  reasoner ; 
and  it  is  almost  a  contradiction  in  terms  to  reason  about 
what  can  only  be  felt.  This  line  of  remark  is  applicable 
to  all  forms  of  culture,  scientific,  artistic,  historical,  or 
literary  ;  in  no  case  does  it  admit  of  quantitative  evalua- 
tion. In  educational  history,  the  recoil  of  opinion  tow- 
ards realism  seems  to  have  reached  its  limit,  and  the 
return  movement  towards  humane  culture  of  the  clas- 
sical type,  to  have  begun.  Men  of  scholarly  instincts 
will  continue  to  find  intellectual  delight  in  classical 
learning,  and  wherever  the  type  of  intellectual  culture  is 
highest,  there  the  appreciation  of  classical  learning  will 
be  highest. 


CHAPTER  XL 

LESSONS  fro:m  the  history  of  education. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  normal  scliools  in  this  coun- 
try, I  have  been  struck  with  the  importance  which  their 
founders  attaclied  to  the  study  of  the  history  of  educa- 
tion as  an  essential  factor  in  a  teacher's  preparation. 
These  New  England  educators  of  a  half-century  ago  had 
a  large  conception  of  the  qualifications  of  one  whose  voca- 
tion was  to  teach.  In  these  proposed  professional  schools 
the  subject  of  education  was  to  be  comprehensively  stud- 
ied in  its  three  phases — as  an  art,  as  a  philosophy,  and  as 
a  history.  This  catholic  scheme  of  professional  study 
was  worthy  the  men  who  conceived  it;  and  though  their 
ideal  has  been  only  very  imperfectly  realized,  it  is  still 
an  ideal  for  us  and  our  successors.  It  is  to  one  element 
in  this  catholic  scheme  of  study  that  I  would  invite  at- 
tention. 

The  importance  of  the  study  of  the  history  of  educa- 
tion may  be  urged  on  several  grounds.  I  will  make  brief 
mention  of  some  of  them. 

1.  If  we  define  the  purpose  of  historical  study  in  gen- 
eral to  be  that  of  forming  a  vivid  conception  of  the  most 
notable  things  done  by  the  human  race,  we  make  it  a 
culture  subject  in  the  true  sense  of  that  term ;  for  there 
is  a  vast  aggregate  to  enlist  the  comprehensive  powers  of 
the  mind,  a  complexity  to  tax  the  discriminating  ability, 
and  a  vast  human  interest  to  call  into  exercise  the  emo- 
tional clement  in  human  nature.     History,  pursued  in 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.        181 

the  light  of  this  conception,  permits  the  student  to  par- 
ticipate in  the  conscious  life  of  the  race.  Any  study 
that  serves  this  purpose  in  a  considerable  degree  is  a  cult- 
ure subject ;  and  any  study  that  does  not  fulfil  this  pur- 
pose in  some  appreciable  degree  has,  to  this  extent,  lost 
its  culture  value.  Now,  what  is  true  of  history  in  gen- 
eral is  true,  in  some  degree,  of  special  phases  of  history. 
It  is  tiie  prerogative  of  educational  history  to  exhibit  the 
conscious  efforts  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  of  the  human 
race  in  behalf  of  their  successors  on  the  earth,  the  fate 
of  the  systems  which  they  devised,  and  the  principles 
which  were  involved  in  them.  Here  is  a  comprehensive 
aggregate,  a  complexity  of  structure,  and  an  involution 
of  human  interests,  thfrt  mark  this  subject  as  having  a 
culture  value  of  high  grade.  Historical  study  in  general 
is  an  element  of  general  culture ;  the  study  of  educational 
history  is  an  element  of  ])rofessional  culture.  My  obser- 
vations of  teachers  and  schools  seem  to  have  taught  me 
that  the  thing  needed  above  all  othera  by  the  teaching 
class  is  that  indefinable,  impalpable,  but  very  real  thing 
which  we  call  culture;  and  I  feel  sure  that  nothing  will 
contribute  more  directly  or  more  powerfully  to  this  end 
than  the  historical  study  of  educational  systems,  methods, 
and  doctrines. 

2.  What  inheritance  is  comparable  to  that  of  an  hon- 
ored name  derived  from  a  long  line  of  honorable  and 
honored  ancestry  ?  Noblesse  oblige  !  How  is  each  gen- 
eration thus  constrained  to  preserve  the  family  traditions 
and  the  family  honor!  Animated  by  this  spirit,  how 
easy  it  is  to  kindle  a  zeal  that  will  lighten  all  life's  bur- 
dens !  Almost  as  potent  is  pride  in  professional  ancestry. 
Yet  how  few  teachers  are  able  to  avail  themselves  of  this 
stimulus  to  noble  effort !     What  profession  can  boast  such 


183  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

a  long  line  of  illustrious  ancestry  ?  Mark  a  few  names 
that  occur  almost  at  random  —  Moses,  Ezra,  Solomon, 
CnciST,  Paul,  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Alcuin,  Come- 
nius,  Pestalozzi,  Arnold.  Yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  to 
very  many  teachers,  the  most  of  these  are  unknown 
names.  I  venture  to  express  the  opinion  that,  in  the 
case  of  tlie  teachers  -who  have  the  best  opportunities  for 
a  professional  education,  the  substitution  of  educational 
history  for  the  highest  of  the  higher  mathematics,  or  for 
entomology,  or  even  for  some  of  tlie  practice  work,  would 
be  a  most  profitable  innovation. 

3.  While  the  practical  value  of  a  subject,  i.  e.,  its  value 
for  guidance,  is  by  no  means  its  highest  claim  to  consid- 
eration, it  is  one  that  should  be  taken  into  careful  ac- 
count. I  am  in  doubt  whether  this  subject  has  a  prac- 
tical value,  according  to  the  current  use  of  the  term. 
We  need  not  expect  to  learn  from  it  how  to  stop  wliis- 
pering,  or  to  prevent  tardiness,  or  to  teach  subtraction, 
or  any  one  of  the  thousand  things  that  a  teacher  must 
know.  This  knowledge  cannot  be  applied  to  such  spe- 
cific uses,  but  rather  to  uses  "which  are  general  and  com- 
prehensive, such  as  the  trend  of  thought  on  educational 
questions  through  the  centuries,  judicial  fairness  in  the 
discussion  of  complex  problems,  wisdom  in  dealing  with 
systems  and  methods  that  have  once  been  put  on  trial, 
etc.  These  uses  are  so  general  that,  even  from  this  third 
point  of  view,  the  subject  seems  to  have  a  culture  value 
rather  than  a  practical  value.  Still,  out  of  deference  to 
usage,  let  us  call  these  high  uses  I  have  indicated  prac- 
tical, and  say  that  the  study  of  educational  history  should 
be  encouraged  on  the  score  of  its  value  for  guidance. 
The  most  specific  advantage  to  be  derived  from  this 
study  is  the  saving  of  time,  efforts,  and  money  in  the 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.        183 

avoiding  of  experiments  that  experience  has  once  con- 
demned. By  the  light  of  this  knowledge  we  are  able 
to  start  on  our  own  forward  journey  with  the  net  re- 
sults of  all  past  educational  effort  as  our  own  capital — 
an  advantage  whose  importance  it  is  not  possible  to  es- 
timate. 

In  normal  schools  the  history  of  education  has  never 
occupied  the  important  place  that  their  projectors  desired 
and  anticipated,  and  we  have  not  to  go  far  to  find  the 
reasons  for  this  failure.  In  some  cases  the  scheme  of 
professional  instruction  has  been  so  "  practical "  that  this 
unpractical  subject  has  been  eliminated  from  the  curricu- 
lum. As  I  was  once  told  by  a  very  prominent  normal- 
school  principal,  "We  aim  at  purely  practical  results; 
a  man  can  teach  a  good  school  without  knowing  any- 
thing of  the  history  of  education." 

The  history  of  education  affords  striking  illustrations 
of  what  seems  to  be  a  very  general  law  of  human 
opinion — that  recoil  from  one  error  is  pretty  sure  to 
land  us  in  an  error  of  an  opposite  sort.  That  one  ex- 
treme follows  another  is  an  observation  almost  as  old 
as  reflection  itself.  This  law  seems  to  be  involved  in 
the  famous  doctrine  of  The  Mean,  of  whicli  Aristotle 
makes  so  much.  According  to  this  conception,  truth,  in 
conduct  or  action,  is  the  harmony  of  two  opposing  or 
contrary  movements;  and  such  is  the  weakness  or  the 
infirmity  of  the  human  mind  that  it  can  seize  and  com- 
prehend only  one  of  these  two  phases  of  truth  at  one  and 
the  same  time.  For  example,  strict  allegiance  to  truth 
requires  the  constant  union  of  the  formal  and  the  real, 
or  of  the  sign  and  the  thing  signified ;  but  there  is  al- 
ways a  tendency  for  the  mind  to  be  occupied  with  the 
easier  of  these  two  elements,  to  the  neglect  of  the  one 


184  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

more  difficult  of  comprehension.  Thus,  in  reh'gion,  there 
is  always  a  tendency  to  foraialistn  ;  that  is,  to  set  up  the 
symbol  as  an  object  of  reverence,  and  so  to  leave  out  of 
account  the  verities  of  religion.  In  process  of  time  this 
movement  goes  to  such  an  extreme  that  it  excites  remon- 
strance, and  then  there  sets  in  a  movement  back  towards 
the  simple  and  the  real.  In  the 'sixteenth  century  the 
movement  towards  religious  formalism  reached  its  culmi- 
nation, and  then  the  recoil  came  in  the  name  of  Protestant- 
ism, and  then  in  the  name  of  Puritanism,  of  Quakerism, 
of  Methodism,  etc.  The  divorce  of  form  from  content, 
the  gradual  culmination  of  the  formal,  and  then  a  recoil 
towards  the  real,  is  just  as  observable  in  the  history  of 
science.  Just  prior  to  the  period  of  Socrates,  for  example, 
the  current  knowledge  of  the  time  had  been  formulated, 
and  the  vocation  of  the  scholar  was  to  gain  possession  of 
these  specious  formulas,  often  empty,  always  hollow  and 
deceptive.  This  movement  had  gone  so  far  that,  to  be 
counted  wise,  a  man  had  need  only  to  collect  a  library. 
Under  this  artificial  state  of  things  the  Socratic  move- 
ment began,  which,  in  one  of  its  main  characteristics, 
consisted  in  exposing  the  emptiness  of  what  passed  for 
knowledge.  During  the  centuries  that  have  followed 
the  era  of  Socrates  this  oscillation  from  form  to  content, 
and  then  from  content  back  to  form,  has  been  a  recur- 
ring phenomenon.  Truth,  discovered,  realized,  and 
formulated  in  one  age,  becomes  the  cant  of  the  next; 
and  then  a  reform  movement  sets  in,  the  purpose  of 
which  is  to  restore  to  forms  their  historic  and  proper 
content.  In  illustrating  this  general  law  of  the  oscilla- 
tion of  opinion  from  one  extreme  to  another,  I  have  in- 
cidentally stated  one  important  instance  of  this  move- 
ment— that  from  form  to  content,  from  sign  to  thing. 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.        185 

and  then  the  reverse  movement  from  the  real  to 
the  formal.  An  analogous  case  is  next  to  be  men- 
tioned. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  truest  statement  yet  made 
of  the  purpose  of  education  is  the  following,  by  Mr. 
Matthew  Arnold :  "  The  ideal  of  a  general,  liberal  train- 
ing is  to  carry  us  to  a  knowledge  of  ourselves  and  the 
world."*  The  two  factors  in  this  conception  are  the 
world  without  and  the  world  within  ;  the  one  discov- 
ered by  observation,  the  other  by  reflection.  The  his- 
torical fact  that  I  wish  to  call  attention  to  is,  that  the 
current  of  opinion  has  flowed  first  towards  one  of  these 
regions  of  knowledge,  and  then,  by  a  recoil  movement, 
towards  the  other.  Physical  or  cosmical  research  had 
occupied  the  attention  of  the  philosophers  who  preceded 
Socrates.  Their  purpose  was  to  account  for  the  physical 
universe  and  to  explain  physical  phenomena.  Socrates, 
seeing  the  speciousness  and  inutility  of  these  specula- 
tions, and  convinced  of  their  untruthfulness  by  noting 
the  conflicting  views  held  by  those  pretended  wise  men, 
directed  his  attention  from  the  world  without  to  the 
world  within  ;  for  observation  he  substituted  reflection  ; 
for  physics,  ethics.  This  recoil  movement  in  human 
thought  culminated  in  the  age  of  Bacon  ;  the  period  of 
oscillation  was  thus  about  twenty  centuries.  With  Ba- 
con there  began  a  return  movement  towards  realism,  and 
now  the  pendulum  of  opinion  has  gone  far  back  towards 
the  pre-Socratic  modes  of  thought.  We  of  to-day  are 
either  promoting  this  recoil  towards  realism  or  physical 
philosophy,  or  are  borne  along  in  the  current  in  spite  of 
our  resistance.  The  indications  of  fact  are  not  to  be  mis- 
taken. Object-teaching,  sense-training,  the  culture  of  tlie 
*  "Higher  School  and  Universities  in  Germany,"  p.  191. 


183  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

observing  powers,  manual  training,  are  positive  marks; 
wliile  the  warfare  against  the  classics,  the  discredit  thrown 
upon  metaphysics,  and  a  relaxing  of  faith  in  ideals,  and 
in  whatever  cannot  be  weighed  and  measured,  are  nega- 
tive indications  of  the  same  fact.  A  prevision  tliat  seems 
to  be  warranted  by  this  historic  movement  is  this — the 
mode  of  thought  now  in  the  ascendant  exaggerates  one 
of  the  elements  of  a  liberal  training,  and  by  so  much  be- 
littles the  other;  a  return  movement  may  be  anticipated, 
and  finally  the  oscillations  will  practically  cease,  and  the 
training  in  the  schools  will  harmonize  the  elements  that 
are  now  at  variance.  An  indication  that  we  are  even 
now  approaching  this  ideal  adjustment  is  the  fact  that, 
in  our  universities  and  in  our  secondary  schools,  the  old 
is  granting  domicile  to  the  new,  and  they  bid  fair  not 
only  to  live  together  in  harmony,  but  to  be  mutually 
helpful.  It  is  an  auspicious  sign  of  the  times  that  a  stu- 
dent who  is  construing  Homer  this  hour  is  to  be  found 
in  the  physical  laboratory  the  next  hour.  This  course  of 
events  will  finally  lead  to  the  ideal  curriculum,  which  will 
combine  in  harmonious  measure  the  formal  sciences,  such 
as  logic  and  mathematics,  the  real  sciences,  such  as  phys- 
ics and  chemistry,  and  the  humane  sciences,  such  as  his- 
tory and  literature.  The  almost  complete  divorce  of  the 
old  from  the  new  is  seen  in  those  distinct  establishments 
known  as  the  German  Gymnasium  and  Real  School.  So 
far  as  this  separation  is  maintained,  it  stands  opposed  to 
that  ideal  adjustment  which  is  predicted  by  the  historic 
movement  of  opinion.  In  the  American  high  school  of 
the  first  class  the  classical  course  and  the  scientific  course 
are  impartially  administered  under  one  management,  and 
often  there  is  a  third  course,  the  Latin  and  scientific, 
which  is  a  compromise  of  the  old  and  the  new,  and  in 


LESSONS  FROM   THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.         187 

the  end  will,  perhaps,  serve  as  tlie  basis  of  tlie  final  and 
ideal  adjustment  commended  bj  Mr.  Arnold.  In  this 
respect  the  American  public-school  polic}'  is  more  nearly 
in  the  line  of  liistoric  development  than  the  German. 
In  the  meantime,  the  man  of  one  idea  will  continue  to 
lift  up  his  voice.  On  the  one  side  there  will  be  pre- 
scribed and  exclusive  intellectual  diet  of  Greek  and  Lat- 
in and  matliematical  roots,  and  on  the  other  of  bugs,  but- 
terflies, and  botanical  roots.  But  for  ourselves  and  our 
children,  we  will  order  a  mixed  diet.  Our  sons  shall  bo 
able  to  read  the  Iliad  and  to  analyze  air,  earth,  and  w.v 
ter,  and  our  daughters  to  read  Dante  and  to  make  bread 
and  cook  a  beefsteak.  Our  educational  creed  shall  em- 
"brace  both  the  trained  head  and  the  trained  liand,  though 
we  will  train  the  head  first,  as  the  best  means  of  training 
the  hand. 

A  survey  of  the  whole  historic  course  of  human  train- 
ing shows  that  ancient  education  was  dominated  by  the 
spirit  of  authority,  and  that  in  modern  education  the 
pnpil  has  become,  in  theory  at  least,  his  own  master. 
Anciently  the  injunction  was,  "Accept  this  as  true,  be- 
cause I  assert  that  it  is  true;"  now  the  theory  is,  "Ac- 
cept nothing  as  true  unless  you  have  verified  it  by  your 
own  personal  experience."  Here  the  recoil  has  been 
from  tyranny  to  anarchy.  As  illustrations  of  these  ex- 
tremes, read  the  "  Talmud  "  and  the  "  fimile."  The  act- 
ual Jewish  child  was  rigidly  kept  within  the  narrow  cir- 
cle of  authority ;  the  imaginary,  though  impossible,  Emil- 
ius  is  invested  from  very  infancy  with  the  liberty  of  the  uni- 
verse. If  the  self-consciousness  of  Rousseau  were  fully 
awake  while  he  was  composing  his  educational  romance, 
he  must  have  laughed  in  his  sleeve  when  he  thought  of 
the  readers  who  would  accept  on  simple  trust  a  theory 


188  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

which  expressly  repudiated  all  trust.  But  then  it  requires 
a  dogmatist  to  condemn  dogmatism. 

Here,  again,  the  truth  lies  at  the  mean.  Authoritative 
teaching  is  right,  so  is  free  inquiry  and  personal  exami- 
nation. Man  is  at  once  dependent  and  independent,  but 
the  major  factor  in  his  constitution  is  dependence.  So 
far  as  he  is  dependent  he  must  rely  for  guidance  on  au- 
thority. The  older  conception,  therefore,  has  the  larger 
amount  of  truth  in  it.  The  older  practice  of  the  two 
is  the  wiser  and  the  safer ;  but  the  ideal  practice,  free- 
dom duly  guided  and  tempered  by  authority,  is  better 
than  cither.  The  great  historic  movements  in  opinion 
will  attain  this  ideal  as  a  resultant. 

Ancient  education  was  concerned  almost  exclusively 
with  accumulated  knowledge,  that  is,  with  knowledge 
which  could  be  acquired  through  the  interpretation  of 
language.  "We  may  properly  and  conveniently  call  this 
second-hand  knowledge.  The  extreme  modern  theory  is 
that  learning  is  a  process  of  discovery  or  of  rediscovery. 
To  employ  the  conceit  of  Rousseau,  the  pupil  shall  not 
learn  science,  but  shall  discover  it.  Throw  aside  books, 
take  nothing  for  granted,  assume  that  the  world  of 
knowledge  is  unexplored,  and  then  rise  to  the  compre- 
hension of  the  universe  by  repeating  the  experiences  of 
the  race  !  This,  in  brief,  is  the  latest  theory  of  learning 
and  teaching.  Locke  was  unconsciously  the  author  of 
it ;  Housseau  gave  it  currency  by  putting  a  bit  of  senti- 
ment behind  it;  Condillac  actually  attempted  to  put  it 
in  practice ;  and  Spencer  has  attempted,  by  specious 
sophistry,  to  establish  it  on  a  basis  of  philosophy.  Mr. 
Bain  has  happily  and  truthfully  characterized  this  hy- 
pothesis as  a  "bold  fiction."*  As  to  the  disuse  of 
•  "  Education  as  a  Science,"  p.  94. 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  DISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.        189 

hooks,  let  it  be  recollected  that  there  is  some  knowledge, 
as  of  history,  the  reproduction  of  which  without  the  aid 
of  books  is  inconceivable.  There  is  other  knowledge, 
the  reproduction  of  which,  -without  the  aid  of  books, 
though  conceivable,  is  practically  impossible  in  the  life- 
time of  any  one  individual.  Natural  science  and  geog- 
raphy are  examples  of  this.  The  impossibility  lies  in 
the  fact  that  much  of  the  material  to  be  studied  is  inac- 
cessible to  any  one  mind.  There  is  a  third  class  of  sub- 
jects, distinguished  by  the  fact  that  all  the  material  is  in 
the  personal  possession  of  each  mind,  such  as  logic,  met- 
aphysics, mathematics,  and  ethics.  Science,  as  Socrates 
understood  it,  was  ethics,  and  so  he  was  right  in  his  defi- 
nition of  the  ideal  teaching,  that  it  consisted  in  leading 
a  pupil  to  formulate  his  own  knowledge,  or  in  assisting 
liim  in  the  birth  of  ideas.  A  French  writer  has  de- 
scribed Socratic  teaching  as  "  L'accouchement  d'une 
ame."  If  we  will  recollect  that  what  is  practicable  in 
ethics  is  inconceivable  in  history,  and  barely  possible  in 
science,  we  need  have  no  diflSculty  in  determining  the 
place  of  books  in  the  work  of  instruction.  I  interpret 
the  outcry  against  the  use  of  books  as  a  recoil  from  the 
old-time  misuse  of  books.  The  crusade  will  do  good  if 
it  guards  us  against  the  old  error,  but  is  most  likely  to  do 
great  harm,  by  leading  us  into  a  still  more  dangerous 
error.  Some  earnest  men  have  been  betrayed  into  a  con- 
demnation of  books  through  a  misconception  of  Socratic 
teaching.  The  true  reformer  will  not  stultify  himself 
by  preaching  the  abolition  of  text-books,  but  will  the 
rather  teach  us  the  right  use  of  books.  The  law  of  prog- 
ress is  inheritance  supplemented  by  acquisition;  and 
as  the  volume  of  capitalized  knowledge  swells  in  bulk 
from  age  to  age,  the  importance  of  books  will  increase 


190  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

from  ?.ge  to  age.  The  most  of  our  knowledge  we  must 
receive  at  seeond-liand  ;  the  most  of  the  science  that  we 
learn  we  must  learn  as  literature  and  not  experimental- 
ly;  and  it  is  questionable  whether,  for  the  ends  of  cult- 
ure, second-hand  knowledge  is  not  better  than  first-hand 
knowledge.  For  practical  or  professional  uses,  physiol- 
ogy should,  no  doubt,  be  learned  in  the  dissecting-room 
and  in  the  physiological  laboratory;  but  for  the  pur- 
poses of  general  culture  it  should  be  learned  from  books. 
Plato  estimated  the  importance  of  studies  chiefly  on  the 
basis  of  their  disciplinary  or  culture  value.  Ilis  repug- 
nance to  practical  studies,  or,  rather,  to  studies  pursued 
for  purely  practical  ends,  may  have  been  an  instinct,  but 
his  preference  was  well  founded.  Any  study  consciously 
learned  for  practical  ends  has  but  slight  culture  value. 
This  is  one  of  the  main  reasons  why  a  man  should  be 
liberally  educated  before  he  learns  a  profession,  and  also 
why  it  is  unwise  to  pursue  a  general  and  a  technical 
course  of  training  simultaneously. 

If  we  give  the  term  "Church"  its  wider  signification, 
the  statement  in  the  "  Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic  "  (ar- 
ticle "  Confessionnelles  ")  is  certainly  true :  "  Historiqne- 
ment  I'ecole  a  6t6  dans  tous  les  pays  la  fille  de  I'eglise." 
The  first  formal  teaching  was  religious,  and  the  first 
schools  were  connected  with  places  of  religious  worsiiip. 
The  hieratic  or  priestly  class  was  the  first  educated  class, 
and  the  early  schools  were  necessarily  confessional.  The 
historical  union  of  Church  and  school  dates  back  from 
time  immemorial,  and  the  religious  imprint  left  on  edu- 
cation has  been  well-nigh  ineffaceable.  It  is  neither  my 
duty  nor  my  purpose,  at  this  time,  to  difjcuss  the  effects, 
good  and  bad,  of  this  domination  of  education  by  the 
Church ;  but  rather  to  point  out  certain  historical  facts, 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.         191 

and  thus  to  discover  the  trend  of  Iinman  opinion,  Hu- 
nian  opinion,  in  the  aggregate,  is  a  resistless  force;  it  is 
slow  to  start,  its  motion  can  be  discerned  only  from  the 
vantage-ground  of  centuries,  but  it  crushes  the  luckless 
system  that  presumes  to  arrest  its  progress.  It  is  well 
said  of  some  things  that  they  come  in  the  fulness  of 
time.  Their  coming  cannot  be  perceptibly  hastened  by 
the  set  purposes  of  men ;  but,  when  they  do  come,  they 
have  come  to  stay  till  their  destined  mission  is  fulfilled. 
And  their  exit  is  never  sudden.  Slow  transition  is  the 
law  of  progress.  "  He  must  increase,  but  I  must  de- 
crease," is  a  t3'pical  description  of  all  forms  of  progress. 
The  final  sentence  may  have  been  made  up  against  the 
thing  that  is^hut  it  will  not  vacate  at  once  for  the  thing 
that  is  to  he.  The  old  life  wanes  in  the  same  degree 
that  the  new  life  waxes.  The  ancient  domination  of  the 
school  by  the  Church,  and  the  modern  domination  of 
the  school  by  the  State,  is  a  large  illustration  of  the  his- 
toric phenomenon  I  have  tried  to  point  out.  During  the 
later  Christian  centuries  church  control  of  education  has 
been  gradually  waning,  and,  during  the  same  period, 
state  control  of  education  has  been  as  gradually  waxing. 
The  unmistakable  progress  of  human  opinion  is  irresisti- 
bly towards  what  French  educators  call  Zaicite,  or  the 
secularization  of  the  school.  In  France,  secularization 
is  complete  and  actual ;  in  England  it  is  partial ;  in  the 
United  States  it  is  established  in  theory,  though  the  the- 
ory is  not  wholly  supported  by  practice.  The  concep- 
tion of  state  control  of  education  is  very  old  ;  it  is  only 
its  domination  that  is  new.  The  first  appearance  of  this 
conception  was  in  Persia — at  least,  prior  to  the  time  of 
Cyrus;  it  was  actually  dominant  in  Sparta  in  the  time 
of  Lycurgus.     During  the  Middle  Age  the  lesson  seems 


192  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

to  have  been  forgotten  ;  but  the  tliought  reappeared  at 
the  Renaissance,  and  to-daj,  throughout  the  whole  world, 
save  in  the  few  countries  where  the  State  is  dominated 
bj  the  Ciiurch,  secularization  is  fairly  in  the  ascendant. 

Tlie  historical  union  of  Church  and  school  has  led 
to  some  consequences  that  are  deserving  of  note.  As 
the  primary  concern  of  the  Church  is  conduct  and  char- 
acter, so  the  matter  of  instruction  in  the  church-school 
was  religious,  ethical,  or  prudential.  All  the  ancient 
systems  of  education  agree  in  this  respect.  The  In- 
dian, the  Persian,  the  Egyptian,  the  Jew,  the  Chinaman, 
were  taught,  above  all  things,  their  duties  to  their  su- 
periors, celestial  and  terrestrial.  The  teaching  of  Socrates 
was  purely  ethical,  and  that  of  Plato  and  Aristotle  main- 
ly so.  The  preoccupation  of  all  these  eminent  teachers 
was  justice;  the  conduct  of  the  young  was  to  be  brought 
into  the  most  perfect  conformity  with  the  law  of  right. 
The  kind  of  training  next  in  importance  was  physical ; 
the  body  must  be  brought  and  kept  under  a  systematic 
regimen  as  the  essential  condition  of  mental  soundness. 
The  kind  of  instruction  lowest  in  esteem  was  what  vre 
denominate  practical.  Plato,  as  previously  observed, 
would  make  the  stud}'  of  arithmetic  compulsory,  but  al- 
most solely  on  the  ground  of  its  disciplinary,  or,  as  we 
would  say,  its  culture,  value.  In  modern  education  this 
sequence  has  been  virtually  reversed.  The  main  preoc- 
cupation of  the  modern  school  is  intellectual  training  and 
the  gaining  of  useful  knowledge;  next  come  religious, 
ethical,  and  prudential  knowledge  and  training;  and, 
lastly,  physical.  The  general  causes  that  have  operated 
to  change  the  great  aims  of  education  may  be  noted  in 
the  sequel. 

The  general  character  of  ancient  education  being  re- 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.         193 

iigious  or  ethical,  it  is  plain  that  all  instruction  was  based 
on  authority.  The  trnth  to  be  taught  was  embodied  in 
revelations  from  heaven,  or  in  the  precepts  of  men.  In 
either  case  the  knowledge  was  accessible  only  through 
the  interpretation  of  language.  We  may  express  this 
general  fact  by  saying  that,  as  to.its  mode,  ancient  educa- 
tion was  almost  purely  literary.  The  art  of  the  scholar 
consisted  in  the  interpretation  of  books.  The  degree  to 
which  the  book  has  now  lost  its  ancient  ascendency  need 
not  be  pointed  out,  though  it  is  well  to  dwell  for  a  mo- 
ment on  the  general  cause  of  this  change.  It  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  reign  of  authority  has  been  broken,  and 
that  learning  is  now  conceived  to  be  a  process  of  discov- 
ery or  of  rediscovery.  What  need  is  there  of  books  when 
it  is  assumed  that  each  individual  must  be  educated  just 
as  the  race  was  educated  historically? 

As  ancient  education  was  mainly  literary,  instruction 
must  have  been  based  on  memory.  The  truth  was 
embodied  in  words,  and  it  was  very  easy  to  form  the 
conception  that  the  readiest  way  to  lodge  the  truth  in 
the  soul  was  to  lodge  the  formal  expression  of  it  in  the 
memory.  In  addition  to  this,  in  all  religious  instruction, 
the  form  of  the  expression  was  almost  as  sacred  as  the 
truth  expressed.  Hence  the  very  language  of  the  text 
must  be  learned.*    From  these  two  circumstances  learn- 

*  "  The  Rabbins  required  of  tbeir  pupils  a  faithful  memory, 
and  that  they  should  add  nothing  to  the  matter  which  had  been 
taught  them.  It  was  a  saying  among  these  teachers,  that  '  he 
who  forgets  parts  of  what  he  has  learned  causes  his  own  destruc- 
tion.' '  It  is  the  duty  of  each  one  to  teach  with  the  very  words 
used  by  his  master;'  and  the  highest  praise  that  could  be  spoken 
of  a  disciple  was  this  :  '  he  is  like  a  cistern  plastered  with  cement, 
that  does  not  let  a  drop  of  water  escape.'  This  extreme  solicitude 
enables  us  to  understand  how  the  disciples  of  Jesus  could  retain  in 

9 


194  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ing  became  nearly  synonymous  with  memorizing.  In 
modern  times,  as  knowledge  has  lost  much  of  its  sacred 
character,  and  as  education  has  become  only  in  part  lit- 
erary, the  oflSce  of  memory  has  fallen  into  discredit. 
The  function  of  this  faculty  is  certainly  not  so  absolute 
as  in  the  ancient  day,  nor  so  limited  as  the  modern  ex- 
tremist asserts.  Its  proper  use  is  indicated  by  the  com- 
position of  our  education,  made  up,  as  it  seems  to  me  it 
should  be,  of  three  parts  of  second-hand  knowledge  to 
one  part  of  first-hand  knowledge.  Those  who  would 
mix  the  ingredients  in  a  different  proportion  will,  of 
course,  assign  a  correspondingly  different  value  to  the 
memorizing  process.  In  this  connection  there  is  one 
thing  that  should  be  carefully  noted.  The  history  of 
education  has  shown  that  memory  is  the  conservative 
faculty.  By  this  expression  I  do  not  mean  that  knowl- 
edge and  intellectual  progress  are  assured  to  the  individ- 
ual mind  through  the  agency  of  this  faculty,  though  this, 
of  course,  is  true;  but  that  national  stability  has  been 
secured  through  systems  of  instruction  based  on  the  ex- 
act memorizing  of  religious,  ethical,  prudential,  and  legal 
precepts.  The  most  conservative  and  the  most  stable 
nation  on  earth  is  the  Chinese,  and  it  is  not  a  mere  co- 
incidence that  the  education  of  this  people  from  time 
immemorial  has  been  based  on  a  rigid  process  of  memo- 
rizing. Under  such  a  system  of  instruction,  continued 
through  centuries,  education  becomes  fate,  the  potency 
of  ideas  becomes  absolute.  Of  course,  the  bad  side  of 
this  system  is  very  apparent.  The  conservatism  is  so 
ingrained  that  it  is  an  effectual  bar  to  progress.     There 

memory  his  instructions,  and  report  tliem  to  us  with  such  aston- 
ishing fidelity." — Edmond  Stapfer,  "La  Palestine  au  Temps  de 
Jgsus-Christ"  (Paris,  1885),  pp.  293, 294. 


LESSONS  FROM    THE  HISTORY   OF   EDUCATION.        195 

is  scarcely  a  doubt  that  if  the  modern  laissez  faire  sys- 
tem were  to  dominate  in  the  schools  of  China,  national 
disintegration  would  set  in  after  only  a  few  generations. 
For  a  time,  hereditary  conservatism  would  withstand  the 
solvent  of  the  "new  education."  A  more  striking  illus- 
tration, if  possible,  of  national  conservation  through  an 
education  based  on  memory,  is  the  history  of  the  Jewish 
race,  that  nation  without  a  country.  The  bond  of  liga- 
tion is  a  powerful  one — a  rigid  monotheistic  faith ;  but 
this  faith  has  been  made  a  vital,  universal  bond  of  na- 
tionality by  the  very  incorporation  of  the  Law  into 
the  Jewish  race  through  immemorial  memorizing.  The 
most  ancient  education  of  the  Roman  consisted  almost 
exclusively  in  the  verbal  memorizing  of  the  Twelve  Ta- 
bles, and  there  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  the  Roman 
VIRTUS  was  the  direct  consequence  of  this  mode  of  educa- 
tion. Much  of  the  flippant  disparagement  of  memory 
would  cease  if  the  subject  could  be  viewed  in  the  light 
of  historic  results.  Who  can  doubt  that  the  stability  of 
the  Roman  Church  lies  in  the  memorizing  of  a  rigid 
creed?  Who  can  doubt  that  the  weakness  of  many 
Protestant  churches  lies  in  a  lax  memorizing  of  creed  ? 
A  universal  weakness  of  Sabbath-school  instruction  is 
well-intended  talk  about  the  Scriptures,  instead  of  an 
unfolding  of  Scripture  that  has  first  been  memorized. 
If  we  conceive  that  one  chief  function  of  the  American 
public  school  is  to  furnish  the  nation  with  successive 
generations  of  men  and  women  fit  for  the  high  duties 
of  American  citizenship,  ought  not  both  the  letter  and 
the  spirit  of  the  Constitution  to  be  impressed  on  the 
souls  of  our  youth  somewhat  as  the  Twelve  Tables  were 
impressed  on  the  souls  of  Roman  youths  ?  * 

*  "  That  wliicU  contributes  most  to  preserre  the  State  is  to  eda- 


196  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Another  general  lesson  tanght  by  this  historical  sur- 
vey is  that  education  has  always  been  moulded  in  ac- 
cordance with  political  or  religious  needs ;  that  is,  the 
school,  instead  of  dominating  the  State  and  the  Church, 
has  been  dominated  by  them.  For  example,  Phoenicia 
was  devoted  to  traffic,  and  so  the  art  of  computation  was 
made  a  staple  of  instruction  in  her  schools.  The  small 
states  of  Greece,  exposed  to  the  ever-present  dangers  of 
invasion,  had  need  of  a  brave  and  hardy  soldiery ;  and 
60  gymnastic  training  of  the  military  type  was  enjoined 
on  all  Grecian  youth.  Egypt  was  pervaded  by  the  spir- 
it of  caste,  and  so  the  purpose  of  instruction  was  to  pre- 
pare the  son  for  following  the  occupation  of  his  father. 
The  preoccupation  of  the  Jew  was  the  maintenance  of 
the  sacred  traditions,  and  so  instruction  became  a  care- 
ful process  of  indoctrination.  The  Reformation,  by 
throwing  on  each  human  being  the  burden  of  his  own 
salvation,  made  it  necessary  that  every  child  should  know 
how  to  read ;  and,  to  meet  this  necessity,  schools  were 
multiplied  till  all  had  an  opportunity  to  learn  to  read. 
In  cases  where  state  needs  were  felt  to  be  urgent,  and 
where  there  was  not  a  prompt  response  to  the  public 
call,  there  was  a  resort  to  compulsion,  as  in  ancient 
Sparta,  and,  in  a  measure,  among  the  Jews,  as  well  as  in 
most  European  states  of  the  present  day.  We  may  gen- 
eralize these  facts  and  say  that  the  prevailing  type  of 
education  during  the  whole  historic  period  has  been  tech- 
nical or  professional,  its  purpose  being  to  equip  men 
for  service  as  agents  or  instruments.     Side  by  side  with 

cate  children  with  reference  to  the  State ;  for  the  most  useful  laws 
.  .  .  ■will  be  of  no  service  if  the  citizens  are  not  accustomed  to  and 
brought  up  in  the  principles  of  the  constitution." — Aristotle,  "  Poli- 
tics," v.,  9. 


LESSONS  FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION.         197 

this  narrow  conception  of  education  there  has  at  times 
appeared  the  wider  conception  of  education  as  a  process 
by  which  a  human  being  is  to  be  wrought  into  the  lil^e- 
ness  of  the  highest  type  of  his  kind.  I  believe  this  con- 
ception appeared  for  the  first  time  in  Greece  in  the  fifth 
century  b.c.  Plato  had  such  an  exalted  conception  of 
the  State,  and  of  the  qualifications  needed  for  full  citizen- 
ship, that,  in  his  scheme  of  training,  technical  education 
and  liberal  education  became  essentially  one  and  the 
same.  To  be  a  citizen  of  the  Republic  was  to  be  a  man 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  that  term  as  then  understood. 
These  two  conceptions,  the  narrower  and  the  wider,  of 
man  as  an  instrument  destined  never  to  transcend  his 
environment,  and  of  man  free  to  transcend  his  environ- 
ment, in  obedience  to  his  natural  aspirations  towards 
the  highest  type  of  his  kind,  have  descended  to  our  day, 
and  their  struggle  for  supremacy  is  involved  in  most 
of  the  educational  polemics  of  the  times.  On  this  sub- 
ject three  opinions  are  held :  1st.  That  education  is  to  be 
of  the  technical  type,  the  school  being  a  place  for  ac- 
quiring a  trade.  2d.  That  education  is  to  be  of  the  lib- 
eral type,  the  purpose  of  the  school  being  a  general  intel- 
lectual training.  3d.  That  the  ideal  education  is  first 
general  or  liberal,  and  then  special  or  technical,  or  that 
the  best  type  of  the  human  instrument  is  to  be  made  out 
of  the  best  type  of  man. 

From  the  vantage-ground  we  have  now  gained,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  history  of  education  exhibits  a  series  of 
contrasts;  that,  in  the  ancient  period,  certain  factors  in 
the  educating  process  were  brought  into  such  prominence 
as  to  obscure  other  factors ;  and  that,  in  the  modern  pe- 
riod, by  a  natural  law  of  reaction,  these  neglected  factors 
assume  the  first  place,  while  the  prominent  factors  of  the 


198  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

older  system  suffer  a  greater  or  less  degree  of  obscurity. 
This  period  of  oscillation,  or  the  interval  between  these 
culminating  points,  is  measured  by  centuries.  We  can 
say,  with  historical  exactness,  that  the  old  system  of  edu- 
cation culminated  at  about  the  time  of  the  Eeforma- 
tion,  and  that  the  present  order  of  things  took  its  rise  at 
the  same  period.  To  these  two  contrasted  systems,  thus 
defined,  have  been  given  the  distinctive  titles  the  Old  and 
the  New  Education.  This  description  is  significant  and 
just.  The  term  "  New  Education  "  has  sometimes  been 
given  to  scientific  training  as  opposed  to  classical  train- 
ing. But  scientific  training  is  not  even  the  half  of  an 
education.  In  a  still  more  limited  sense,  this  term  has 
been  applied  to  kindergarten  training;  but,  at  its  very 
best,  this  is  scarcely  more  than  the  beginning  of  an  edu- 
cation. 

To  these  statements  I  must  add  two  observations :  1. 
The  comprehensive  study  of  the  history  of  education  will 
save  us  from  the  conceit  of  thinking  that  we  are  to  look 
for  much  that  is  new  in  principle.  M.  Compayre,  after 
his  survey  of  this  subject,  speaks  as  follows :  "  The  most 
of  the  essential  elements  which  compose  the  art  of  hu- 
man education  have  long  since  been  brought  to  light, 
and  the  first  duty  of  a  modern  teacher  is  to  begin  by 
carefully  collating  the  recorded  results  of  the  past  centu- 
ries of  effort." 

*  "  Histoire  de  la  Pedasroerie." 


CHAPTER  XII, 
THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL. 

The  great  French  Dictionary  of  Pedagogy,  now  in 
process  of  publication,  makes  this  apology  for  the  title  of 
one  of  its  leading  articles :  "  The  word  Laicite  is  new,  and, 
though  correctly  formed,  is  not  yet  in  general  use.  How- 
ever, the  neologism  is  necessary,  because  we  have  no  other 
term  that  can  express,  without  paraphrase,  the  same  idea 
in  its  full  signification." 

In  the  discussion  of  this  subject  my  purpose  has  been, 
not  to  defend  a  favorite  opinion,  but  to  interpret  the 
spirit  of  modern  legislation  as  it  affects  the  status  of  the 
public  school.  Indeed,  the  logic  of  facts  has  led  to  a 
conclusion  that  is  somewhat  repugnant  to  my  feelings, 
and  entirely  in  opposition  to  my  practice  while  engaged 
in  the  public-school  service. 

Education  is  every  year  becoming  more  and  more  a 
political  question ;  and  in  what  follows  I  shall  attempt 
to  present,  in  a  summary  manner,  the  general  drift  of 
national  legislation  as  it  affects  the  public  school.  For 
much  of  the  information  contained  in  this  chapter  I  am 
indebted  to  Buisson's  "  Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic." 

By  the  secularization  of  the  school,  I  mean  its  eman- 
cipation from  the  Church,  and  its  adoption  and  main- 
tenance by  the  State;  and  my  purpose  is  to  show  the 
causes  and  the  consequences  of  this  historical  movement. 
The  present  status  of  the  school  is  neither  an  accident 
nor  the  result  of  deliberate  forethought,  but  is  one  of 


200  SCIENCE   OF   EDUCATION. 

the  products  of  the  resistless  march  of  civilization.  The 
movement  I  am  to  describe  is  but  one,  and  that  one 
the  latest,  of  a  series  of  cognate  movements,  that  are 
also  the  concomitants  of  civilization.  Progress,  in  one 
of  its  most  characteristic  phases,  is  a  differentiation  and 
specialization  of  functions.  In  a  rude  state  of  society, 
many  oflBces  are  conjoined  in  one  person ;  an  artisan 
practises  several  crafts,  a  tradesman  sells  many  different 
sorts  of  goods ;  but  an  invariable  and  unmistakable  char- 
acteristic of  progress  is  a  division  of  labor,  whereby  each 
hand  and  each  mind  is  allowed  to  do  that  for  which  it 
has  the  greatest  aptitude. 

In  his  "  History  of  Kationalism.  in  Europe,"  Mr.  Lecky 
devotes  a  chapter  to  the  "  Secularization  of  Politics,"  in 
which  he  traces  the  gradual  emancipation  of  politics  from 
ecclesiastical  control.  This  account  carries  us  back  to 
that  period  in  our  civilization  when  the  Church  and  the 
State  were  virtually  one,  when  the  legislative,  executive, 
and  judicial  functions  were  exercised  in  the  name  and 
by  the  authority  of  the  Church.  We  have  not  to  go  far 
back  in  the  world's  history  to  find  Rome  the  capital  of 
the  world,  and  the  nominal  sovereigns  of  Europe  the  real 
vassals  of  the  Roman  Pontiff.  Kings  ruled  by  divine 
right,  and  ecclesiastics,  simply  because  they  were  eccle- 
siastics, held  a  place  in  legislative  councils.  How  this 
domination  of  the  church  in  civil  affairs  has  been  weak- 
ened and  broken  need  not  be  pointed  out  in  detail.  We 
are  told*  that,  "in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  in  the  thir- 
teenth century,  the  spiritual  peers  formed  one  half  of  the 
House  of  Lords;  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  they  were  only  one  eighth ;  and  at  the  present 
time  are  only  one  fourteenth ;  while  the  propriety  of 
•  Hinsdale.  "  Schools  and  Studies"  (Boston,  1884), p.  233. 


THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  201 

excluding  them  from  the  chamber  altogether  has  been 
seriously  proposed,  and  probably  is  not  far  distant.  In 
tracing  the  decline  of  the  power  of  the  English  clergy, 
Mr.  Buckle  says:  'Since  the  seventeenth  century  there 
has  been  no  instance  of  any  ecclesiastic  being  made  Lord 
Chancellor;  and  since  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
century  there  has  been  no  instance  of  one  receiving  any 
diplomatic  appointment,  or,  indeed,  holding  any  important 
ofBce  in  the  state.'  *  Nor  has  any  clergyman,  at  least 
of  the  Established  Church,  sat  in  the  House  of  Commons 
since  1801."  t 

Two  things  are  to  be  noted  in  passing:  1.  The  secu- 
larization of  politics  is  the  result  of  a  growth,  and  is  thus 
an  exponent  of  progress.  It  is  Mackintosh,  I  think,  who 
is  credited  with  the  saying,  that  "  constitutions  are  not 
made,  but  grovoP  In  a  similar  manner,  this  differentia- 
tion of  functions  has  come  in  the  fulness  of  time,  and 
not  through  accident  or  caprice. 

2.  In  the  second  place,  there  is  scarcely  a  possibility, 
certainly  not  the  least  probability,  that  there  will  ever  be 
a  return  to  ecclesiastical  domination  in  politics.  In  the 
past,  it  may  have  been  best  that  civil  rulers  should  be 
subject  to  the  authority  of  the  Church ;  but  in  the  present, 
it  is  undoubtedly  best  that  ecclesiastics  should  not  be  al- 
lowed to  dominate  in  the  affairs  of  State.  But  whether 
best  or  not,  the  lay  state  is  a  fact  beyond  recall,  and  the 
Church  must  adjust  itself  to  the  established  order  of  things. 

I  use  the  term  Church  in  a  comprehensive  sense,  to 

*  "  History  of  Civilization  in  England,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  299,  300. 

t  From  a  late  number  of  the  EducatioTial  Times  (London),  it  ap- 
pears that  "  in  the  year  1861  the  percentage  of  lay  masters  at  Eton, 
Harrow,  and  Rugby  was  respectively  34, 26,  and  5,  and  at  present 
(April,  1884)  the  percentages  are  65,  85,  and  71." 

9* 


203  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

designate  "  the  organized  aggregate  of  religious  influ- 
ences in  a  community;*  and  in  this  sense  the  Church 
was  once  the  dominant  power  in  every  line  of  human 
activity — in  science,  in  art,  in  war,  in  politics,  in  educa- 
tion, in  everything.  "  In  a  very  primitive  period  of  the 
history  of  civilization,"  says  Jardine,t  "in  Egypt,  in 
Babylon,  and  in  India,  the  sculptor's  art  was  employed 
in  the  representation  of  the  national  ideas  of  the  deity." 
"Music,  like  the  other  fine  arts,  was  originally  enlisted 
in  the  service  of  religion."  "The  art  of  architecture 
originated  in  an  attempt  to  beautify  and  adorn  the  tem- 
ples of  religion  in  the  houses  of  the  wealthy." 

"Historically,"  says  Buisson,:}:  "the  school  has  been 
in  all  countries  the  daughter  of  the  Church ;  and  so,  at 
first,  every  school  was  necessarily  conducted  under  re- 
ligious auspices." 

We  need  not  go  far  to  account  for  this  historical  domi- 
nation of  the  Church.  The  Church  was  dominant  because 
it  was  powerful,  and  it  was  powerful  because  it  was  wise. 
Anciently,  and  as  far  down  as  the  Middle  Age,  the  sacer- 
dotal class  held  the  monopoly  of  learning,  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  this,  they  held  the  monopoly  of  power  and 
privilege. 

Let  us  now  turn  for  a  moment  to  consider  the  causes 
of  that  partition  of  functions  which  is  such  a  character- 
istic fact  of  modern  times.  Principally  they  are  the  fol- 
lowing: 1.  The  secularization  of  learning.  This  secu- 
larization took  place  in  two  ways:  learning  gradually 
lost  its  hieratic  character,  or  was  gradually  extended  to 
what  we  term  secular  subjects,  such  as  history,  physics, 

*  Webster. 

t  Jardine,  "Elements  of  Psychology  "  (London,  1874),  pp.  176-178. 

X  "  Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic,"  article  "  Confessionnelles." 


THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  203 

and  astronomy;  and,  in  the  second  place,  men  ootside  of 
the  sacerdotal  class  applied  themselves  to  learning,  and 
80  broke  down  this  monopoly.  In  other  words,  at  this 
remote  period  there  was  but  one  profession,  bnt  this  was 
all-comprehensive,  that  of  scholar ;  the  scholar  was  priest, 
legislator,  physician,  teacher,  artist ;  but  when  men  not  be- 
longing to  the  priestly  class  became  scholars,  they  set  up 
for  themselves,  some  as  physicians,  others  as  politicians, 
and  so  on. 

2.  A  co-operating  cause  in  this  partition  of  functions 
was  the  principle  of  the  division  of  labor.  The  speciali- 
zation of  vocations  that  began  in  a  diffusion  of  learning 
was  nurtured  and  fixed  by  the  need  of  following  those 
restricted  lines  of  activity  that  accord  with  individual 
predilections.  The  observation  already  made  with  refer- 
ence to  the  permanent  separation  of  politics  from  religion 
may  now  be  extended  to  all  the  specialized  functions— 
in  each  case  the  separation  is  final ;  it  is  not  supposable 
that  there  will  ever  be  a  return  towards  that  primitive 
state  out  of  which  these  diversified  industries  have  sprung. 
On  the  contrary,  the  current  of  progress  is  steadily  tow- 
ards a  specialization  of  growing  minuteness,  farther  and 
farther  from  the  old-time  simplicity. 

Another  general  fact  deserves  mention  because  of  its 
bearing  on  an  educational  doctrine  of  great  importance. 
Before  a  marked  division  of  labor  has  taken  place,  all 
varieties  of  practical  knowledge  are  of  co-ordinate  im- 
portance ;  that  is,  each  man  must  learn  the  several  arts 
that  in  turn  occupy  his  attention.  "When,  however,  a 
man  becomes  restricted  to  one  art  instead  of  four,  three 
varieties  of  knowledge  lose  their  primary  value,  for  the 
division  of  labor  now  permits  him  to  participate  in  their 
advantao:es  at  second  hand. 


204  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Within  the  memory  of  this  generation,  the  arts  of 
carding,  spinning,  weaving,  and  dyeing  had  a  primary 
value  to  the  housewife ;  but  now  she  does  not  need  to 
know  these  arts,  for  she  participates  in  their  benefits  at 
second  hand.  It  is  not  possible  to  estimate  the  absolute 
value  of  medical  science;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  all 
scholars  should  study  medicine.  The  ninety  and  nine 
who  are  ignorant  of  medicine  may  still  share  in  the  full 
value  of  this  variety  of  knowledge.  By  permitting  us 
to  be  ignorant  of  four  difiFerent  arts,  the  division  of  labor 
allows  us  to  know  four  times  as  much  about  our  own 
art. 

Returning  now  to  the  special  subject  under  considera- 
tion, it  is  to  be  noted  that  educating  is  the  last  important 
prerogative  that  the  Church  has  surrendered ;  or,  more 
truly  it  might  be  said,  that  the  last  parley  is  now  in  prog- 
ress that  precedes  this  final  surrender.  To  the  two  main 
causes  of  the  specialization  of  functions,  viz.,  the  seculari- 
zation of  knowledge  and  the  division  of  labor,  we  must, 
in  this  case,  note  a  third,  the  diversity  of  sects  or  of  re- 
ligious creeds.  If  the  mediaeval  uniformity  in  religious 
belief  bad  descended  to  this  day,  it  is  probable  that  edu- 
cation would  still  be  administered  by  the  Church.  It  is 
still  more  probable  that  if  this  uniform  belief  were  a 
state  religion,  education  would  still  be  a  function  of  the 
Church. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  primitive  system,  or  that  which 
holds  the  public  school  under  formal  religious  supervision, 
is  still  maintained  in  tlie  following  countries:  Spain, 
Portugal,  Greece,  Denmark,  Sweden  and  Norway,  and 
in  some  of  the  small  German  states. 

In  Spain,  all  the  public  schools  are  conducted  under 
the  religious  sanctions  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ; 


THE  SECULARIZATION   OF  THE  SCHOOL.  205 

though  other  denominations  may  be  authorized  to  estab- 
lish private  schools.  In  Portugal,  the  public  schools  are 
exclusively  Roman  Catholic,  as  in  Spain.  In  Greece,  the 
public  school  is  under  the  control  of  the  Greek  Church, 
and  the  religious  instruction  is  given  by  the  teacher.  In 
the  rare  cases  where  parents  belong  to  a  different  com- 
munion, they  may  have  religious  instruction  given  to 
their  children  separately,  at  their  own  expense.  In  Den- 
mark, in  a  few  localities,  there  are  schools  for  dissenters, 
maintained  at  their  own  expense.  All  the  public  schools 
are  subject  to  the  state  Church,  the  Lutheran  Evangelical. 
The  children  of  dissenters  who  may  attend  the  public 
schools  are  excused  from  the  religious  instruction.  In 
Sweden  and  Norway,  public  instruction  is  supervised  by 
the  state  Church,  and  the  clergy  make  frequent  visits  to 
the  schools  in  order  to  give  teachers  necessary  instruction 
and  advice. 

Passing  now  to  what  we  may  call  the  modern  system, 
or  that  which  relieves  the  public  school  from  all  formal 
religious  sanctions,  we  find  the  neutral  school  in  the  fol- 
lowing countries:  Holland,  France,  Belgium,  the  United 
States,  and  Canada.  In  Holland,  the  law  of  August 
13, 1857  (article  23),  prescribes  as  follows :  "  The  teacher 
shall  refrain  from  teaching  anything  which  may  show  a 
lack  of  respect  due  to  the  religious  opinions  of  others. 
Religious  instruction  is  left  to  the  denominational  bodies, 
and  schoolrooms  shall  be  at  their  disposal  for  this  pur- 
pose, outside  of  school  hours.  Private  schools  assisted 
by  public  funds  must  receive  pupils  without  distinction 
of  sect," 

In  Switzerland  it  is  declared  by  the  federal  constitu- 
tion of  1874  (article  77),  that  attendance  in  the  public 
schools  shall  be  open  to  pupils  of  all  religious  denomina- 


206  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tions  without  any  infringement  in  rights  of  conscience ; 
and  that  the  Confederation  shall  take  the  necessary  meas- 
ures against  any  canton  which  does  not  respect  this  regu- 
lation. 

In  Austria,  the  law  of  1869  declares  that  every  pri- 
mary school  assisted  by  public  funds  is  a  public  institu- 
tion, and  as  such  is  open  to  children  without  distinction 
of  sect. 

In  Belgium,*  the  law  of  1878  states  that  religious  in- 
struction is  left  to  the  care  of  families  and  ministers  of 
the  various  denominations ;  but  that  a  room  in  the  school 
may  be  used  for  instruction  in  religion,  either  before  or 
after  school  hours. 

In  England,  parliamentary  aid  is  refused  to  schools 
connected  with  a  religious  denomination,  and  religious  in- 
struction is  forbidden  in  schools  receiving  state  aid. 

In  Scotland,  every  school,  public  or  private,  receiving 
state  aid,  must  admit  pupils  without  distinction  of  sect. 

The  most  decisive  legislative  movement  yet  made  in 
favor  of  the  absolute  secularization  of  the  school  was  ac- 
complished in  France  in  1882.  By  this  act,  not  only  is 
public  instruction  absolutely  relieved  from  church  con- 
trol, but  even  authorized  religious  congregations f  are 

*  With  the  late  triumph  of  the  ecclesiastical  party  in  Belgium, 
the  schools  have  again  come  under  the  control  of  the  Church. 

t  "  Religious  congregations  devoted  to  teaching  are  of  two  classes : 
(1)  those  that  are  authorized,  and  have  thus  received  from  the  gov- 
ernment a  legal  existence ;  and  (2)  those  that  are  unauthorized,  hav- 
ing no  legal  existence.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1878  there  were 
24  authorized  religious  congregations  of  men  devoted  to  teaching, 
and  they  had  charge  of  3096  schools.  There  were  528  authorized 
religious  congregations  of  women,  having  charge  of  16,478  schools. 
There  were  at  the  same  time  385  unauthorized  congregations  of 
men,  85  of  which  were  devoted  to  teaching;  and  602  unauthorized 


THE. SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  207 

forbidden  to  teach,  and  all  religious  instruction  is  struck 
from  the  school  programme. 

In  his  " Dictionnaire  de  Pedagogic"  (1*"  partie,  p. 
1469),  M.  Buisson  speaks  of  this  movement  as  follows : 
"  Laicity,  or  the  neutrality  of  the  school  in  all  its  grades, 
is  but  the  application  to  the  school  of  a  rule  that  has  pre- 
vailed in  all  our  social  institutions.  Like  most  peoples, 
we  have  advanced  from  a  state  of  things  which  consisted 
essentially  in  the  confusion  of  all  powers  and  of  all  do- 
mains, in  the  subordination  of  all  authorities  to  one  sole 
authority,  that  of  religion.  It  is  only  through  the  slow 
labor  of  centuries  that  the  several  functions  of  public 
life  have  been  gradually  distinguished,  separated  from 
one  another,  and  emancipated  from  the  rigid  tutelage  of 
the  Church. 

"  The  stress  of  affairs  brought  about  the  secularization 
of  the  army  at  a  very  early  date;  then  that  of  adminis- 
trative and  civil  functions,  and,  finally,  that  of  justice. 
Every  state  that  does  not  choose  to  remain  purely  theo- 
cratic is  soon  obliged  to  constitute  as  forces  distinct  from 
the  Church,  if  not  independent  and  sovereign,  the  three 
powers,  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial.  But  seculari- 
zation is  not  complete  as  long  as  over  each  of  these  pow- 
ers or  over  the  whole  of  life,  public  and  private,  the 
clergy  preserves  a  right  of  interference,  of  supervision, 
of  control,  or  of  veto.  Such  was  exactly  the  situation  of 
French  society  up  to  the  declaration  of  the  rights  of 
man.  The  French  Revolution  made  appear  for  the  first 
time,  in  all  its  definiteness,  the  conception  of  the  lay  state, 
of  the  state  neutral  among  all  creeds,  independent  of  all 

congregations  of  women,  of  which  about  260  were  devoted  to  teach- 
ing."— "  Dictionnaire  de  P6dagogie,"  article  "  Congrggations." 


208  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ecclesiastical  aathorities,  and  free  from  all  theological 
bias. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

"  Only  one  domain  had  as  yet  escaped  this  transforma- 
tion ;  this  was  public  instruction,  or,  rather,  primary  in- 
struction ;  for  the  higher  instruction  had  long  been  free 
from  church  control,  and  only  boarders  in  secondary 
schools  were  held  to  religious  instruction.  But  primary 
instruction  remained  essentially  confessional.  Not  only 
must  the  school  give  formal  dogmatic  instruction  in  re- 
ligion, but  teachers,  pupils,  programmes,  methods,  books, 
rules,  everything,  in  fact,  was  placed  under  the  inspection 
or  under  the  direction  of  religious  authorities." 

In  the  application  of  this  French  law  of  1882  two  seri- 
ous questions  have  arisen  :  1.  While  the  unauthorized  re- 
ligious congregations  in  their  collective  capacity  are  en- 
joined from  teaching,  may  individual  members  of  such 
congregations  be  employed  in  the  public-school  service? 
The  reply  is,  that  if  such  teachers  lay  aside  all  their  ec- 
clesiastical functions  while  engaged  in  their  school  duties, 
they  may  be  employed  in  the  service.  The  general 
principle  is  this :  "  Tiie  teacher  for  the  school,  the  priest 
for  the  church,  the  mayor  for  the  town." 

2.  In  the  second  place,  must  the  instruction  become, 
as  the  English  say, "  colorless"  ?  While  abandoning  dog- 
matic religious  instruction,  must  the  schools  eliminate 
all  moral  teaching  and  thus  become  "godless"?  This 
is  the  reply  from  the  Minister  of  Instruction  :  "  The 
teacher's  mission  with  respect  to  moral  and  religious  in- 
struction is  very  clearly  defined.  It  consists  in  fortify- 
ing and  implanting  in  the  souls  of  his  pupils,  for  life,  by 
daily  practice  and  habit,  the  essential  notions  of  human 
morality,  common  to  all  creeds  and  necessary  to  all  civil- 


THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  209 

ized  men.  The  teacher  can  fulfil  this  mission  without 
making  personal  assent  or  objection  to  any  of  the  differ- 
ent religious  beliefs  with  which  his  pupils  associate  and 
mingle  the  general  principles  of  morality.  He  takes 
these  children  just  as  they  come  to  him,  with  their  ideas 
and  their  languages,  with  the  beliefs  which  they  derive 
from  the  family,  and  he  has  no  duty  but  to  teach  them 
to  draw  from  these  beliefs  what  they  contain  that  is  most 
valuable  from  a  social  point  of  view,  that  is,  the  precepts 
of  a  high  morality."  * 

This  case  of  France  deserves  our  marked  attention,  be- 
cause it  is  the  clearest  example  now  on  record  of  the  ab- 
solute secularization  of  public  instruction.  Speaking  of 
this  legislation  the  Republique  Franqaise  of  March  25, 
1882,  says:  "The  system  of  instruction  just  established 
by  vote  of  the  senate  is  without  exception  the  most  lib- 
eral that  exists  in  the  civilized  world.  It  is  the  most 
modern,  the  best  adapted  to  the  inspirations  as  well  as 
to  the  needs  of  a  great  nation  emancipated  from  the 
yoke  of  theology.  Neither  Switzerland,  nor  Holland, 
nor  Protestant  Germany,  nor  Eepublican  America  has 
anything  to  offer  which  can  be  compared  with  our  pri- 
mary national  instruction.  At  a  single  bound,  France, 
which  was  behind  the  times,  has  just  placed  herself  at 
the  head  of  nations."  f 

And  Mundella,  in  an  association  of  teachers  at  Shef- 
field, is  reported  to  have  said :  "  I  have  just  read  the  last 
French  law  on  instruction.  It  is  the  grandest  act — I 
was  going  to  say,  the  most  wonderful  law — that  there 
has  ever  been  in  the  history  of  education  in  the  whole 
world."  f 

The  American  public  school  is  not  neutral  in  the  sense 

*  "  Dictionnaire  de  Pgdagogio,"  p.  1473.  t  Ibid.,  p.  1090. 


210  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

or  to  the  degree  that  the  French  public  school  is  neu- 
tral. True,  there  is  no  direct  church  interference  in 
the  matter  of  teachers,  books,  programmes,  etc. ;  nor  is 
any  special  religious  doctrine  obtruded  upon  the  public 
schools ;  still,  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  a  majority  of  cases 
these  schools  are  conducted  under  some  form  of  religious 
sanction,  such  as  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  or  the  offering 
of  prayer.  In  most  cases  this  matter  lies  in  the  discre- 
tion of  the  teacher.  Except  in  a  few  cases,  there  is  no 
positive  legislation  either  for  or  against  religious  exer- 
cises in  connection  with  public  schools.  I  note  the  fol- 
lowing cases  as  reported  by  Francis  Adams  in  his  "  Free 
School  System  of  the  United  States :"  ^ 

In  Massachusetts  it  is  the  duty  of  the  school  commit- 
tee "  to  require  the  daily  reading  of  some  portion  of  the 
Bible  in  the  common  English  version."  However,  there 
is  a  conscience  clause  for  children  whose  parents  object 
to  this  reading  from  the  Bible. 

The  law  of  New  Jersey  rules  out  "  any  religious  ser- 
vice, ceremony,  or  forms  whatsoever,  except  reading  the 
Bible  and  repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer." 

The  law  of  New  York,  while  prohibiting  sectarian  re- 
ligious instruction,  expressly  forbids  boards  of  education 
to  exclude  the  Holy  Scriptures,  without  note  or  comment, 
or  any  selections  therefrom,  from  any  of  the  schools  pro- 
vided for  in  this  act.  Nor  shall  boards  determine  what 
version,  if  any,  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  shall  be  used. 

The  law  of  Iowa  "forbids  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible 
from  the  public  schools,"  but  has  a  conscience  clause,  as 
in  Massacliusetts. 

The  law  of  Indiana  says :  "  The  Bible  shall  not  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  public  schools  of  the  state." 
•  London,  1875. 


THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  211 

The  law  of  Illinois  permits  the  use  of  the  Bible  in 
the  public  schools. 

So  far  as  state  legislation  is  concerned,  I  note  but  one 
case,  that  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  the  reading  of  the 
Bible  is  commanded.  In  all  other  cases  the  use  of  the 
Bible  in  public  schools  seems  to  be  optional  with  boards 
and  teachers.  For  example,  the  law  of  Ohio  makes  no 
provision  respecting  religious  instruction ;  and  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  that  state  sustains  the  action  of  the  board 
of  education  in  Cincinnati  in  excluding  the  Bible  from 
the  public  schools  of  that  city. 

Having  now  noted  the  two  extreme  modes  of  school 
administration — the  primitive  system  of  religious  domina- 
tion, and  the  modern  system  of  neutrality,  more  or  less 
perfect — I  come  to  speak  of  what  may  be  called  the 
mixed  system,  which  really  makes  the  transition  from 
the  ancient  to  the  modern.  According  to  this  system, 
communities  may  establish  neutral  schools  in  which  there 
is  neither  religious  instruction  nor  ceremonial ;  or,  when 
this  is  not  done,  the  confessional  school  must  be  open  to 
all  pupils  without  reference  to  sect.  Thus,  in  Prussia, 
the  public  elementary  schools  are  open  to  all  children 
without  distinction  of  sect.  A  public  school  may  have 
a  confessional  character,  but  it  must  still  admit  pupils  of 
other  confessions.  A  minority  cannot  require  the  district 
to  establish  a  school  to  accommodate  their  own  religious 
preferences.  In  the  main,  the  schools  of  Bavaria,  Baden, 
Italy,  and  Russia  are  to  be  included  in  this  mixed  system. 

The  three  systems  now  named  are  not  separated  by 
sharply  drawn  lines.  The  two  extremes,  as  in  the  case 
of  Spain  and  France,  are  sharply  defined  ;  but  in  several 
cases  it  is  difficult  to  say  more  than  that  a  transition  is 
in  progress  towards  secularization. 


213  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Some  general  conclusions,  that  seem  to  be  justified  by 
the  facts  I  have  presented,  will  conclude  this  discussion. 

1.  Education  has  become,  or  is  rapidly  becoming,  a 
function  of  the  State.  This  is  another  way  of  saying 
that  the  Church  has  lost,  or  is  rapidly  losing,  one  of  its 
ancient  and  most  highly  prized  prerogatives.  And  still 
more,  this  prerogative,  when  once  lost,  is  lost  absolutely 
without  hope  of  recovery.  Save  in  the  few  countries  I 
have  named,  the  school  has  been  virtually  emancipated 
from  ecclesiastical  control.  Denominational  schools  may 
still  be  maintained,  but  they  are  maintained  on  suffer- 
ance; for  the  moment  they  should,  through  any  misdi- 
rection, menace  the  prosperity  of  the  State,  they  would 
doubtless  be  suppressed,  as  in  France. 

The  State  must  be  an  educator  as  a  measure  of  self- 
protection.  It  has  come  to  be  a  well-settled  conviction 
that  there  is  some  necessary  connection  between  igno- 
rance and  vice,  and  between  intelligence  and  good  citizen- 
ship ;  and  so  the  State  administers  education  as  it  does 
other  interests  of  a  general  and  public  nature. 

2.  With  the  State  as  an  educator,  the  school  becomes 
a  civil  institution,  and,  as  such,  it  must  abandon  religious 
instruction,  which  must  be  relegated  to  the  family  and 
the  Church. 

The  public  school  must  teach  morality,  because  moral- 
ity is  an  element  of  good  citizenship,  and  its  cardinal 
principles  are  universally  accepted,  so  that  to  teach  them 
is  no  violation  of  religious  liberty ;  but  it  may  not  teach 
religion,  or,  rather,  may  not  require  pupils  to  receive  in- 
struction in  religion.  This  logical  consequence  of  the 
secularization  of  the  school  is  distasteful  to  many  sincere 
religionists.  It  is  felt  that  the  education  that  is  not 
given  under  religious  sanction   is   dangerous,  perhaps 


THE   SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  213 

worse  than  ignorance.  Or,  as  I  once  heard  it  expressed 
by  a  fervent  orator,  "  the  school  that  does  not  teach  its 
pupils  to  remember  God  teaches  tliem  to  forget  God ;" 
his  meaning  being  that  if  a  school  does  not  aim  at  mak- 
ing the  young  religious,  it  will  make  them  irreligious  ;  or, 
generally,  that  not  doing  a  certain  thing  is  equivalent  to 
doing  the  opposite  thing.  But  while  only  a  few  will  be 
found  to  defend  this  ultra  position,  there  are  very  many 
who y^^Z  that  education,  unless  administered  under  for- 
mal religious  sanctions,  is  full  of  peril. 

Two  considerations  should  reconcile  us  to  the  impend- 
ing status  of  the  public  school:  First,  it  is  inevitable,  and 
we  must  adjust  ourselves  to  an  order  of  things  that  can- 
not be  successfully  resisted.  Secondly,  the  family  and 
the  Church  must  magnify  their  oflSce,  and  must  more 
faithfully  administer  a  prerogative  that  they  should  nev- 
er think  of  delegating. 

3.  In  the  United  States  there  is  a  reason  why  the 
public  school  has  always  retained  something  of  a  relig- 
ious character,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  reason  why  the 
public  school  should  be  simply  a  civil  institution,  con- 
ducted without  religious  form  or  ceremony.  Our  public- 
school  system  was  founded  by  men  of  intense  religious 
convictions,  who  believed  that  religion  was  an  essential 
part  of  a  citizen's  education ;  and  so,  in  New  England, 
we  find  the  custom  of  opening  the  school  with  some  re- 
ligious services  still  generally  observed.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  genius  of  our  institutions  seems  to  require  that 
our  public  school  should  be  purely  a  lay  institution.  In 
Cooley's  "  Constitutional  Limitations,"  we  find  that  the 
"  compulsory  support,  by  taxation  or  otherwise,  of  relig- 
ious instruction,"  is  named  as  one  of  "  those  things  which 
are  not  lawful  under  any  of  the  American  constitutions." 


214  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

He  says:  "Not  only  is  no  one  denomination  to  be  fa- 
vored at  the  expense  of  the  rest,  but  all  support  of  re- 
ligious instruction  must  be  entirely  voluntary."  And 
again:  "Whatever  establishes  a  distinction  against  one 
class  or  sect  is,  to  the  extent  to  which  the  distinction 
operates  unfavorably,  a  persecution ;  and,  if  based  on 
religious  grounds,  is  a  religious  persecution."  * 

If  this  general  doctrine  is  correct,  and  the  term  "  re- 
ligious instruction "  is  construed  in  a  comprehensive 
sense,  it  follows  that  the  American  public  school  should 
not  only  be  unsectarian,  but  should  be  absolutely  neu- 
tral as  to  religious  bias.  This  may  be  called  the  theo- 
retical or  strictly  legal  status  of  the  school.  Practically, 
the  public  school  has,  and  probably  will  long  have,  a 
quasi-religious  character.  Where  the  school  may  be 
opened  with  the  reading  of  the  Bible  and  the  repetition 
of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  without  dissent  or  protest,  it  is 
well ;  but  wherever  this  is  done  in  defiance  of  protest  on 
the  part  of  pupils  or  their  parents,  the  school  should  be- 
come neutral.  The  practice  of  giving  religious  instruc- 
tion to  pupils  out  of  school  hours,  or  on  the  school  prem- 
ises, would,  on  the  doctrine  quoted  from  Judge  Cooley, 
be  unconstitutional. 

In  this  connection,  what  is  known  as  "  the  religious 
difficulty"  deserves  a  passing  notice.  If  the  American 
public  school  were  to  be  made  absolutely  neutral,  would 
its  position  be  satisfactory  to  the  Roman  Catholics  ?  On 
the  occasion  of  the  exclusion  of  the  Bible  from  the  public 
schools  of  Cincinnati,  the  New  York  Tablet  used  this  lan- 
guage :  "  The  school  board  of  Cincinnati  have  voted,  we 
see  from  the  papers,  to  exclude  the  Bible  and  all  relig- 

*  Quoted  from  the  "  Free-School  System  of  the  United  States." 
By  F.  Adams. 


THE  SECULARIZATION  OF  THE  SCHOOL.  215> 

ions  instruction  from  the  public  schools  of  tlie  city.  If 
this  has  been  done  with  a  view  to  reconciling  the  Cath- 
olics to  the  common-school  system,  its  purpose  will  not  be 
realized.  It  does  not  meet,  or  in  any  degree  lessen,  our 
objection  to  the  public-school  system,  and  only  proves 
the  impracticability  of  that  system  in  a  mixed  commu- 
nity of  Catholics  and  Protestants  ;  for  it  proves  that  the 
schools  must,  to  be  sustained,  become  thoroughly  godless. 
But,  to  us,  godless  schools  are  still  less  acceptable  than 
sectarian  schools,  and  we  object  less  to  the  reading  of 
King  James's  Bible,  even  in  the  schools,  than  we  do  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  religious  instruction.  American  Prot- 
estantism of  the  orthodox  stamp  is  far  less  evil  than  Ger- 
man infidelity." 

The  perfect  neutrality  of  the  school  is  not  to  be  urged 
as  a  concession  to  the  Roman  Church,  but  solely  on  the 
ground  of  judicial  fairness  and  constitutional  right.  If 
the  Catholic  will  not  accept  the  public  school,  either  with 
or  without  the  Bible,  he  is  at  perfect  liberty  to  patronize 
the  Church  school.  The  thing  he  really  wants  will  dou'bt- 
less  never  be  granted,  a  division  of  the  school  fund  for 
the  benefit  of  his  parish  school. 

Opposition  to  the  State,  or  neutral,  school  does  not 
come  from  the  Catholic  alone.  Some  Protestant  bodies 
have  been  almost  as  vehement  in  their  antagonism.  Be- 
tween these  two  cases,  however,  there  is  this  curious  dif- 
ference :  the  Catholic  will  send  his  children  to  the  higher 
public  schools,  but  will  not  allow  them  to  receive  their 
early  instruction  in  our  primary  schools ;  while  Protes- 
tants universally,  so  far  as  I  know,  patronize  our  lower 
schools,  but  would  conduct  the  higher  education  of  their 
children  in  their  denominational  colleges.  There  is, 
doubtless,  a  sincere  belief,  on  the  part  of  some  Protes- 


216  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tauts,  that  the  higher  education,  as  administered  by  the 
State,  is  dangerous ;  but,  in  some  cases,  it  is  only  too  evi- 
dent that  a  state  institution  is  believed  to  be  a  danger- 
ous rival.  The  Catholic  wants  a  share  of  the  public- 
school  fund  for  the  relief  of  his  Church  school ;  while 
the  Protestant  wants  to  draw  recruits  into  his  denomi- 
national college  from  institutions  for  the  higher  educa- 
tion, supported  by  the  State. 

To  conclude :  the  manifest  tendency  of  the  times  is 
towards  the  secularization  of  the  school.  The  modern 
State  has  become  an  educator,  and  relegates  religious  in- 
struction to  the  family  and  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION. 

The  good  and  wise  Martin  Luther  said :  "  If  I  were 
not  a  preacher,  I  would  be  a  teacher;  indeed,  I  do  not 
know  which  is  the  better."  The  preacher  is  an  ethical 
teacher,  an  expositor  of  divine  truth  ;  the  teacher  is  an 
expositor  of  worldly  wisdom,  a  preacher  of  literary  and 
scientific  truth.  Both  are  illuminators  and  guides.  In 
the  hand  of  each  is  a  torch ;  each  is  a  standard-bearer ; 
and  both  are  leaders  in  that  grand  forward  movement 
we  call  civilization.  In  this  connection  there  is  another 
saying  of  Luther's  which  will  explain  the  one  first  quoted. 
"  It  is  hard,"  he  says, "  to  make  old  dogs  obedient,  or  old 
scoundrels  pious ;  bat  young  trees  are  more  easily  bent 
and  trained."  And  our  own  Horace  Mann,  who  preached 
on  educational  reform  in  New  England  a  half-century 
ago,  expressed  the  same  thought  when  he  said :  "  They 
(the  clergy)  are  reformers,  I  admit ;  but,  with  reference 
to  anything  that  grows,  one  right  former  is  worth  a  thou- 
sand reformers."  The  thought,  then,  in  the  mind  of 
Luther  and  of  Horace  Mann,  was  this :  the  teacher  is  a 
former,  while  the  preacher  is  chiefly  a  reformer ;  it  is 
better  to  form  rightly  than  to  labor  at  reforming.  A 
perennial  question  for  discussion  is  this:  "How  may  the 
teacher  become  a  right  former  ?"  "  Of  what  spirit  shall 
he  be  so  that  his  work  shall  be  the  least  likely  to  need 
reforming  ?" 

"  Teaching,"  says  Mr.  Fitch,  "  is  the  noblest  of  all 

10 


218  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

professions,  bnt  it  is  the  sorriest  of  trades."  *  Mj  pur- 
pose iu  this  chapter  is  to  illustrate  this  brief  text,  and  to 
bring  into  view  the  professional  aspect  of  teaching,  and 
also  the  course  that  must  be  followed  if  we  would  secure 
to  the  teaching  art  the  privileges  and  the  prerogatives 
that  are  usually  associated  with  the  professions. 

This  discussion  has  special  reference  to  the  education 
that  is  given  in  normal  schools.  The  general  purpose 
that  carries  young  men  to  schools  of  theology,  medicine, 
and  law,  calls  others  to  normal  schools.  In  purpose, 
such  students  set  themselves  apart  for  a  special  vocation 
of  great  diflSculty  and  of  the  gravest  importance.  The 
very  fact  that  they  patronize  such  schools  is  proof  that, 
in  a  very  true  sense,  they  contemplate  becoming  state 
officials ;  that  they  will  by  and  by  assume  grave  public 
duties,  and  will  be  paid  for  their  services,  in  part,  from 
the  public  treasurj'.  By  the  founding  and  maintenance 
of  these  normal  schools  the  State  purposes  to  give  to  a 
select  body  of  teachers  a  professional  education  ;  and,  on 
their  part,  in  accepting  these  proffered  advantages,  these 
teachers  virtually  become  parties  to  a  contract,  whereby 
they  agree  to  give  to  the  State  the  benefits  of  a  profes- 
sional training.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  there- 
fore, to  themselves  and  to  the  commonwealth,  that  those 
who  are  thus  specially  educated  become  professional 
teachers  in  the  highest  and  truest  sense  of  this  term. 
In  the  quotation  I  have  borrowed  from  Mr.  Fitch,  trade 
and  profession  are  contrasted  terms.  In  all  times  and  in 
all  countries,  teaching  has  been,  for  the  most  part,  a  trade ; 
but  the  spirit  of  this  age  is  now  calling  the  teacher  to  a 
higher  plane  of  thinking  and  acting.  Each  step  in  civ- 
ilization requires  that  men  should  work  with  sharper 
*  Fitch, "  Lectures  on  Teacliing,"  p.  25. 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND   AS  A  PROFESSION,      319 

tools.  From  age  to  age  men  must  work  more  rapidly 
and  more  surely.  The  sailing-vessel  once  answered  very 
well  for  transatlantic  communication,  and  the  stage- 
coach for  trans-continental  travel ;  but  this  new  age  re- 
quires an  ocean  steamer  that  will  pass  from  continent 
to  continent  within  seven  days,  and  a  rail-car  that  will 
take  us  across  the  continent  almost  at  the  rate  at  which 
a  bird  can  fly.  In  my  boyhood  I  read,  in  the  weekly 
paper,  "  Three  weeks  later  from  Europe ;"  but  now  we 
may  read  in  our  daily,  European  news  not  three  hours  old. 
Clumsy  hand-work  suflBced  for  the  ancient  world,  and 
for  the  lower  stages  of  civilization ;  but  now,  head-work 
has  come  to  the  front.  Hand-work  must  still  be  done, 
but  the  hand  must  be  inspired  and  guided  by  the  head. 
Ponderous  agents  were  first  enlisted  in  man's  service, 
and  were  made  to  minister  to  his  pleasures  and  his  needs ; 
but  this  new  world  in  which  we  live,  this  world  that  has 
been  transformed  by  human  art,  is  moved  by  impon- 
derable agents,  heat  and  electricity.  Anciently,  all  men 
were  artisans ;  they  worked  with  their  hands  from  imi- 
tation and  by  rule.  Now,  the  very  elect  of  the  world's 
workers  are  artists ;  they  toil  with  their  brains  from  in- 
spiration and  by  principle. 

Whereunto  shall  we  liken  a  profession?  To  an  en- 
closed and  fortified  camp,  into  which  no  one  can  gain 
admittance  without  giving  the  countersign.  What  is  the 
condition  for  gaining  admittance  to  the  three  typical 
professions,  law,  medicine,  and  theology  ?  It  is  the  pos- 
session of  a  specific  body  of  knowledge,  diflScult  of  at- 
tainment, scientific  in  character,  and  necessary  for  ful- 
filling the  peculiar  duties  required  of  the  professional 
membership.  Let  us  examine  the  marks  of  what  I  will 
venture  to  call  professional  knowledge,  that  knowledge 


330  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

without  which  no  one  will  be  admitted  to  that  close  cor- 
poration or  guild  known  as  a  profession.  First,  it  is 
knowledge  of  a  specific  kind,  such  as  people  in  general 
do  not  possess.  In  the  matter  of  general  scholarship, 
lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen  are  simply  on  a  par  with 
the  well-educated  of  every  class ;  they  belong  to  the 
genus  scholar,  and  are  defined  by  adding  a  specific  dif- 
ference. This  specific  difference  is  the  peculiar  knowl- 
edge I  have  mentioned.  To  make  my  meaning  clearer, 
let  me  illustrate:  a  square  is  a  rectangle;  and  we  define 
a  square  by  adding  to  the  conception  rectangle  the  spe- 
cific difference  equilateral^  and  say  a  square  is  an  equi- 
lateral rectangle.  And  so  a  physician  is  a  scholar  and 
something  more;  more,  by  that  special  body  of  knowl- 
edge which  is  required  for  his  specific  duties.  To  see 
how  necessary  this  item  is  to  the  very  existence  of  the 
professions,  let  us  imagine  all  men  to  have  the  knowl- 
edge now  required  of  the  physician.  Then,  at  a  single 
stroke,  the  line  between  professional  and  non -profes- 
sional would  disappear.  That  is,  the  specific  difference 
between  genus  and  species  would  disappear;  the  species 
would  be  absorbed  in  the  genus. 

In  the  second  place,  the  knowledge  constituting  this 
specific  difference  is  obtainable  with  difficulty.  In  a  cer- 
tain sense  the  professions  are  monopolies — they  have  the 
exclusive  possession  of  certain  kinds  of  invaluable  knowl- 
edge. Why  do  not  men  break  down  this  monopoly  by 
getting  possession  of  this  distinctive  knowledge  ?  Chiefly 
because  it  is  a  very  diflScult  thing  to  gain  it.  Why  do 
not  men  break  down  all  class  distinctions,  and  thus  re- 
duce society  to  a  homogeneous  condition?  Evidently, 
because  of  the  impossibility  of  gaining  those  things  upon 
which  class  distinctions  are  founded.     To  be  a  physician, 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  A3  A  PROFESSION.      221 

a  lawyer,  or  a  minister,  requires  the  mastery  of  knowl- 
edge so  abstruse  that  men  in  general  will  not  endure  the 
toil  and  sacrifice  necessary  to  obtain  it. 

In  the  third  place,  professional  knowledge  is  scientific 
in  character.  Ilere  we  are  confronted  with  a  distinction 
that  deserves  to  be  noted.  The  blacksmith  must  have 
special  knowledge  in  order  to  fit  him  for  his  special  du- 
ties, but  this  knowledge  is  restricted  to  mere  processes, 
or  ways  of  doing  work.  He  must  master  the  How  of  his 
art.  But  however  expert  he  may  be  in  his  manipulations, 
he  cannot  explain  the  principles  or  laws  on  which  they 
rest.  In  other  words,  while  he  is  proficient  in  the  How 
of  his  art,  he  is  ignorant  of  the  Why.  The  smith  can 
perform  a  variety  of  processes,  but  can  explain  none  of 
them ;  while  the  scholar  can  explain  the  several  processes, 
but  can  perform  none  of  them.  In  the  main,  manual 
dexterities  are  easy  of  attainment;  they  involve  a  low 
order  of  knowledge,  and  constitute  an  art.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  principles  that  underlie  processes  and  thus  ex- 
plain them  are  discovered  with  great  difiiculty;  they  in- 
volve a  much  higher  order  of  knowledge,  and  constitute 
a  science.  Blacksmithing  is  a  trade,  and  the  smith  an 
artisan.  Chemistry  is  a  science,  and  the  chemist  is  a 
member  of  a  profession.  The  knowledge  required  for 
the  practice  of  an  art  is  empirical  knowledge ;  while  the 
knowledge  needed  in  a  profession  is  rational  or  scientific 
knowledge,  consisting  of  doctrines,  principles,  and  laws. 
My  definition  of  professional  knowledge  will  now  be 
clearer  if  I  reverse  the  order  of  marks  and  say  that  this 
knowledge  must,  first  of  all,  be  scientific ;  that  because 
it  is  scientific,  it  is  attainable  with  difiiculty ;  and  that  be- 
cause of  its  difficulty,  it  is  restricted  to  a  select  few ;  and, 
lastly,  that  because  a  profession  is  a  select  body,  it  is 


232 


SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 


also  a  privileged  body,  enjoying  certain  prerogatives  that 
are  attractive  to  men  of  ambition  and  talent.* 

Let  us  now  inquire  on  what  grounds  these  privileged 
bodies  are  maintained.  What  good  reasons  are  there 
why  law  or  custom  prescribes  difficult  terms  on  which 
admittance  may  be  gained  to  the  professions  ?  Perhaps 
it  might  be  better  to  make  them  higher  and  stronger. 
Let  us  see. 

1.  Suppose  we  ask  why  there  is  free  admittance  to  the 
guild  of  blacksmiths,  while  admittance  to  the  guild  of 
physicians  can  be  obtained  only  on  hard  conditions  of  a 
prescribed  kind.  We  know  that  in  most  cases  the  law 
determines  who  may  practice  medicine,  but  neither  law 
nor  custom  interferes  with  any  man's  M-ish  to  become  a 
blacksmith.  Evidently  there  must  be  some  reason  for 
this  discrimination.  We  may  say,  in  a  word,  that  society 
guards  the  entrance  to  the  medical  profession  as  a  neces- 
sary measure  of  self-protection.  The  knowledge  and 
skill  needed  for  the  successful  practice  of  the  black- 
smith's art  are  within  the  easy  reach  of  all.  In  other 
words,  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  all  who  may  choose 

*  The  relation  of  the  closed  occupations  (professions)  to  the  open 
occupations  (trades)  may  be  illustrated  as  follows : 
Mental. 

Lawyer. 


Occupations. 


Doctor. 

Minister. 

Teacher. 


Hatter. 
Farmer. 
Carpenter. 
Mason. 


Closed. 
(Professions.) 


Open. 
(Trades.) 


Manual. 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION.      223 

this  vocation  will  become  workmen  who  may  be  safely 
trusted.  But  suppose  a  man  turns  out  to  be  an  incom- 
petent blacksmith.  In  the  first  place,  the  consequences 
of  his  incompetence  are  not  likely  to  be  serious,  scarcely 
more,  in  most  cases,  than  a  slight  money  loss ;  and  in  the 
second  place,  tlie  difference  between  good  and  bad  work 
is  so  easily  discovered  that  imposition  is  practically  im- 
possible. So  society  does  not  resort  to  any  formal  means 
of  self-protection.  But  how  different  the  case  is  in  the 
practice  of  medicine !  The  knowledge  and  skill  needed 
in  this  art  are  to  be  obtained  only  with  great  diflSculty, 
and  consequently,  out  of  the  multitude  who  might  wish 
to  turn  physician  only  a  very  small  number  have  the 
talent  and  industry  that  suffice  for  the  purpose.  Be- 
sides, men  in  general  are  not  competent  to  decide  between 
fitness  and  unfitness  in  this  line  of  activity,  and  so  this 
determination  is  left  with  specialists,  with  the  faculties 
of  medical  colleges,  and  their  decisions  are  regarded  by 
the  law  as  final ;  and  in  the  third  place,  the  consequences 
of  malpractice  are  so  fearful  that  society  is  justified  in 
taking  extreme  precautions  to  exclude  incompetence  from 
the  medical  profession.  Recalling  the  illustration  I  have 
already  used,  why  is  the  professional  camp  thus  strongly 
fortified  ?  The  proximate  answer  is,  to  shut  out  pre- 
tenders and  the  incompetent;  and,  if  we  demand  the 
cause  of  this  formal  exclusion,  we  find  it  in  the  right  of 
society  to  protect  itself  from  grave  peril.  Should  these 
safeguards  be  more  or  less  rigorous  than  they  now  are  ? 
Does  society  need  more  or  less  protection  against  pro- 
fessional incompetence?  "With  respect  to  medicine  and 
law,  I  think  but  one  answer  can  be  returned.  There  is 
a  most  urgent  need  that  society  should  be  much  better 
protected  against  quacks  and  shysters.     The  standard  of 


224  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

professional  education  should  be  much  higher  than  it  is. 
Tlie  quality  should  be  raised,  even  at  the  expense  of 
quantity.  If  necessary,  let  us  have  fewer  doctors  and 
lawyers,  but  let  those  we  have  be  gentlemanly,  scholarly, 
and  skilful.  I  sympathize  with  a  venerated  and  lamented 
colleague  *  who  was  accustomed  to  characterize  the  cur- 
rent practice  of  law  as  "  the  constitutional  means  of  de- 
feating the  ends  of  justice."  I  am  not  competent  to  ex- 
press an  opinion  on  the  great  political  issues  of  the  day ; 
but,  in  the  matters  I  am  now  discussing,  I  feel  sure  that 
the  great  need  of  the  country  is  protection  rather  than 
free-trade. 

2. 1  have  now  shown  that  those  corporations  or  guilds 
known  as  professions  owe  their  existence,  in  the  first 
place,  to  the  need  felt  by  society  of  protecting  itself 
against  dangerous  incompetence.  It  is  now  to  be  noted 
that  society  needs  to  offer  special  inducements  to  men  to 
fit  themselves  for  lives  of  activity  that  require  an  unu- 
sual amount  of  time  and  labor  in  the  way  of  preparation. 
Everywhere  men  are  disposed  to  support  life  on  the  easiest 
terms,  or  to  move  in  the  line  of  least  resistance.  If  a 
man  has  to  spend  five  years  instead  of  two  in  acquiring 
fitness  for  an  occupation,  it  will  be  done  only  in  the  hope 
of  some  prospective  reward.  The  case,  when  stated  very 
plainly,  is  this :  Will  it  pay  me  to  spend  several  of  the 
best  years  of  my  life,  and  a  considerable  amount  of  money 
to  boot,  in  order  to  fit  myself  for  the  practice  of  a  diffi- 
cult art  ?  Now,  whether  this  sacrifice  will  finally  pay  or 
not  depends  on  two  things :  on  the  rate  of  remuneration 
and  on  the  social  position  that  will  be  accorded  by  society. 
"We  will  consider  remuneration  in  money  as  the  chief  re- 
ward that  society  gives  for  the  long  toil  and  great  ex- 
♦  Dr.  B.  F.  Cocker. 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION.       225 

pense  in  making  a  preparation  for  the  practice  of  a  pro- 
fession. Bj  what  process  does  it  come  to  pass  that  the 
prospective  physician  or  lawyer  may  confidently  hope 
to  receive,  let  ns  say,  $10  a  day  for  his  professional 
services?  Law  and  custom  effect  this  result  in  a  very 
simple  and  satisfactory  manner  by  protecting  prof essional 
men  from  unjust  competition.  The  mode  of  doing  this 
is  equally  simple.  Through  law  and  custom,  society  will 
admit  no  one  to  the  privileges  of  the  professions  without 
exacting  from  him  a  certificate  of  competence.  The  in- 
competent shall  not  compete  with  the  competent  for  em- 
ployment; and  the  necessary  consequence  is  that  there 
is  a  rise  in  the  rate  of  remuneration.  This  is  the  reward 
offered  by  society  for  the  attainment  of  high  excellence 
in  a  difficult  art.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how  society 
protects  itself  by  lending  its  protection  to  the  professions. 
To  abolish  this  protection,  by  allowing  all  who  will  to 
practice  medicine,  would  be  to  reduce  the  physician's  fee 
to  the  stipend  of  a  day  laborer.  This  reduction  in  re- 
muneration would  abase  the  grade  of  competence,  so  that, 
in  the  end,  quackery  would  become  rampant,  and  society 
would  become  unprotected  against  gross  incompetence. 
By  ceasing  to  protect  the  professions,  society  would  aban- 
don the  means  of  self-protection. 

This  practice  of  offering  rewards  for  special  efforts  and 
special  excellence  is,  in  fact,  very  common.  The  great 
purpose  of  the  agricultural  society  is  to  stimulate  farmers 
to  produce  improved  specimens  of  fruits,  grains,  vege- 
tables, cattle,  etc.  What  is  the  mode  of  stimulation  ? 
The  offering  of  a  premium  in  money,  or  a  medal,  or  a 
diploma.  It  is  the  interest  of  society  to  stimulate  men 
to  make  high  achievements  in  difficult  lines  of  activity; 
and  the  only  efficient  means  yet  found  is  to  offer  some 

10* 


326  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

adequate  reward.  In  some  cases  tbis  reward  is  a  sum  of 
money  in  hand ;  in  others  it  is  the  bestowal  of  special 
privileges  and  prerogatives ;  but  in  all  cases  the  principle 
is  the  same  and  is  equally  justifiable. 

This  discussion  of  the  general  nature  of  the  profes- 
sions may  possibly  seem  like  a  digression,  but  I  have 
thought  the  digression  necessary,  as  the  means  of  deter- 
mining whether  teaching  can  be  ranked  as  a  profession, 
and  whether  young  men  and  women  who  are  being 
trained  in  normal  schools  may  find  in  teaching  a  career, 
an  opportunity  to  rise  to  distinction  by  the  exercise  of 
their  best  gifts  of  mind  and  heart.  Shall  teaching  re- 
main the  sorry  trade  that  it  has  been,  or  shall  it  be  en- 
nobled to  the  dignity  of  a  profession  ?  These  are  ques- 
tions worthy  of  grave  consideration,  alike  by  teachers 
and  by  parents ;  for  in  this  matter  there  is  a  perfect  sol- 
idarity of  interest.  (All  the  active  years  of  my  life  thus 
far  have  been  spent  in  the  public-school  service,  and  in 
this  service  I  expect  to  remain  till  the  period  of  my  ac- 
tivity shall  close.  So  far  as  I  have  known  how,  I  have 
done  my  work  in  the  professional  spirit.  I  have  chosen 
teaching  as  a  vocation  for  life.  T  have  tried  to  bring  the 
scientific  spirit  to  bear  on  all  the  details  of  my  work ; 
and  this  work,  pursued  in  this  spirit,  has  been  a  delight.^ 
I  yield  to  no  one  in  according  honor  to  the  ministry.  But, 
for  myself,  I  would  rather  be  a  teacher  than  a  preacher, 
a  former  than  a  reformer;  and  my  purpose  in  this  chapter 
is  to  say  something  that  may  encourage  young  men  and 
women  to  adopt  the  public-school  service  as  a  profession. 
I  shall  now  adduce  the  several  reasons  that  seem  to  me 
conclusive  why  teaching  should  enjoy  the  dignities,  the 
rights,  and  the  rewards  of  a  profession. 

1.  Teaching  is  an  intellectual  art.      It  is  addressed 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION.         227 

to  the  spirit.  It  deals,  primarily  and  principally,  with 
mind.  It  has  been  well  said,  "  On  earth  there  is  nothing 
great  but  man  ;  in  man  there  is  nothing  great  but  mind." 
What  sublimer  vocation,  then,  than  to  be  the  conscious 
and  skilful  minister  to  the  mind's  needs  and  aspirations? 
By  its  vastness  and  complexity,  the  earth  is  a  sublime 
mystery,  and  it  is  easy  to  comprehend  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  scientist  in  his  attempts  to  solve  the  problems  of  ma- 
terial and  animal  existence ;  but  what  is  this  earth  when 
compared  with  the  vastness,  the  complexity,  and  the  mys- 
tery of  spirit  ?  Now,  he  who  has  to  do  with  the  laws  of 
spirit  is  an  artist,  and  he  who  has  in  charge  the  mould- 
ing of  the  plastic  spirit  may  aspire  to  be  the  prince  of 
artists.  To  be  called  to  defend  the  body  against  disease, 
and  to  secure  the  citizen  against  any  invasion  of  his  rights 
to  liberty  and  property,  are  high  vocations,  and  those 
who  charge  themselves  with  such  duties  are  properly  in- 
vested with  professional  prerogatives;  but  higher  than 
these  functions  is  that  of  forming  and  informing  the 
spirit,  and  society  can  scarcely  offer  a  prospective  reward 
too  high  for  artistic  excellence  in  this  line  of  activity. 
Should  not  the  men  and  the  women  who  make  them- 
selves worthy  of  this  high  office  be  protected  against  un- 
just competition  ? 

2.  Moreover,  society  is  as  much  in  need  of  formal 
and  valid  protection  against  incompetence  in  teaching 
as  against  incompetence  in  legal  and  in  medical  prac- 
tice. The  reasons  for  the  need  of  this  formal  protection 
on  the  part  of  society  are  the  extreme  difficulty  of  dis- 
criminating between  competence  and  incompetence,  and 
the  grave  peril  involved  in  a  mistake  in  making  this  dis- 
crimination. These  reasons  are  in  full  force  in  the  case 
under  consideration.    I  believe  there  is  no  art  practised 


228  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

among  men  in  which  it  is  so  difficult  to  distinguish  be- 
tween fitness  and  unfitness,  between  work  of  high  qual- 
ity and  work  of  low  quality.  Let  me  illustrate  and  verify 
tliis  statement.  Let  us  take  what  seems  to  be  a  simple 
case,  that  of  the  inspection  of  a  school.  If  this  inspec- 
tion is  to  serve  any  valuable  purpose,  it  must  be  compe- 
tent to  do  three  things:  (1)  To  determine  whether  the 
school  is  in  a  good  or  bad  condition.  (2)  If  it  is  in  a  bad 
condition,  to  locate  the  trouble,  or  to  assign  a  cause  for 
the  failure.  (3)  To  provide  an  adequate  remedy.  Out 
of  ten  inspectors  of  the  average  mould,  not  more  than 
five  are  competent  for  the  first  duty;  and  of  these  five, 
not  more  than  three  can  locate  the  difficulty  ;  and  of 
these  three  not  more  than  one  can  prescribe  a  rational 
course  of  treatment.  In  this  illustration  I  have  in  mind 
what  Charles  Francis  Adams  has  called  "  scientific  school 
supervision."  *  Any  other  I  hold  to  be  worthless.  What 
proportion  of  mere  scholars  are  able  to  determine,  on  any 
rational  ground,  the  studies  that  should  form  the  com- 
mon-school curriculum  ?  I  hold  that  no  one  but  a  spe- 
cialist can  have  this  competence.  Comparatively  speak- 
ing, it  is  much  more  difficult  to  prescribe  a  course  of 
study  for  a  particular  school  than  to  write  a  prescription 
for  a  fever  patient.  In  both  cases  charlatanry  should  be 
an  indictable  offence. 

3.  I  have  said  that  professional  knowledge  is  scientific 
in  character;  it  is  a  knowledge  of  doctrines,  principles, 
and  laws,  as  distinguished  from  a  knowledge  of  mere 
processes,  methods,  or  modes  of  procedure.  If  we  wish 
to  accord  high  praise  to  a  physician,  we  speak  of  him  as 
a  man  of  science^  meaning  by  that  expression  that  he 
is  able  to  trace  tiie  route  over  which  cause  must  pass  in 
*  See  Harper'' a  Monthly  Magazine,  Nov.,  1880. 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND   AS  A  PROFESSION.      229 

order  to  produce  its  effect.  Such  a  man  has  a  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  human  body  as  a  complex,  vi- 
talized aggregate;  he  knows  the  relation  of  each  part  to 
every  other  part,  and  to  the  grand  whole ;  to  every  dis- 
ordered function  he  can  assign  some  definite  cause  or 
antecedent,  and  so  can  employ  a  large  intelligence  in 
adapting  means  to  ends. 

In  the  teaching  art  is  there  a  state  of  things  compara- 
ble to  this  ?  Is  there  within  the  reach  of  the  teacher  a 
body  of  knowledge  so  definitely  scientific  in  character  as  to 
make  possible  a  good  degree  of  prevision  ?  This  is  to  ask 
whether  the  evolution  of  mind  is  subject  to  law,  or  wheth- 
er there  is  a  science  of  mind.  For  the  teacher's  art,  be- 
ing addressed  primarily  to  the  mind,  if  there  is  a  science 
of  mind,  there  must  also  be,  of  necessity,  an  applied  sci- 
ence of  teaching.  I  know  of  no  reputable  thinker  who 
denies  that  there  is  a  science  of  mind.  I  suppose  the 
simple  fact  to  be  that  there  are  more  well-established 
principles  in  mental  science  than  in  medical  science. 
The  astonishing  fact  is  that,  until  within  a  recent  period, 
there  has  been  no  systematic  attempt  to  found  a  rational 
system  of  teaching  on  the  known  laws  of  mental  science. 
There  is  no  general  truth  of  which  I  feel  surer  than  of 
this — that  the  teacher  of  to-day,  if  he  will,  may  adopt  a 
course  of  practice  that,  in  its  main  features,  is  strictly 
rational.  Instead  of  blindly  following  tradition,  prece- 
dent, and  mere  authority,  the  teacher,  if  he  will,  may 
employ  his  versatile  powers  with  the  same  deliberate  con- 
fidence in  law  that  sustains  the  physician  in  dealing  with 
the  cases  incident  to  his  profession. 

That  this  body  of  psychological  knowledge  is  difficult  of 
attainment  no  one  who  is  at  all  versed  in  the  science  will 
deny.     From  this  point  of  view,  to  be  a  teacher  is  no 


230  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

mean  task,  for  it  implies  not  only  a  mind  predisposed  to 
reflection  and  gifted  with  some  degree  of  philosophic  in- 
sight, but  a  patient  persistence  in  study  of  which  only 
a  comparatively  few  are  capable.  Students  who  are  con- 
scious of  high  gifts  may  find  in  the  pursuit  of  educa- 
tional science  a  field  for  the  exercise  of  their  best  pow- 
ers, and,  in  the  practice  of  their  art,  the  daily  and  hourly 
opportunity  to  test  their  scientific  versatility. 

As  further  illustrating  the  nature  of  that  special  body 
of  knowledge  that  the  teacher  may  rightly  regard  as  pro- 
fessional, I  will  follow  a  little  further  the  analogy  be- 
tween the  practice  of  medicine  and  of  teaching.  In 
addition  to  his  proficiency  in  physiological  and  anatom- 
ical knowledge,  the  physician  must  know  the  therapeu- 
tical value  of  each  remedial  agent,  so  that,  in  the  treat- 
ment of  disease,  he  can  make  a  wise  discrimination  in 
the  use  of  the  resources  at  his  command.  This  has  its 
almost  exact  parallel  in  the  teaching  art,  where  each  study 
has  its  peculiar  nature,  produces  its  own  effect  on  the 
growing  mind,  and  serves  a  purpose  that  no  other  study 
will  serve.  The  education  value  of  studies  stands  in  the 
same  relation  to  the  teaching  profession  that  materia 
medica  does  to  the  medical  profession.  Is  this  an  ab- 
struse branch  of  learning  ?  For  a  reply,  look  at  the  names 
of  the  few  who  have  attempted  to  fix  these  values.*  Here 
is  a  field  of  study  as  attractive  as  any  known  to  physical 
science.  To  formulate  a  comprehensive  statement  of 
education  values  I  believe  to  be  the  most  important  task 
of  the  educational  philosopher. 

A  third  element  of  professional  knowledge,  of  at  least 
co-ordinate  rank  with  the  two  just  described,  is  still  to 
be  noted.  The  organon,  or  chief  teaching  instrument, 
*  See  Chapter  III. 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION.      231 

is  language,  considered  as  the  medium  of  communica- 
tion between  teacher  and  pupil.  That  accomplished 
scholars  are  sometimes  conspicuous  failures  in  the  art  of 
teaching  has  long  been  an  observed  fact.  In  many  cases, 
no  doubt,  this  failure  can  be  traced  to  an  inability  to  gov- 
ern, but  in  quite  as  many  cases  the  fault  lies  in  an  awk- 
ward use  of  the  great  teaching  instrument,  language. 
With  a  deft  use  of  language,  all  the  intellectual  re- 
sources of  the  teacher  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the 
task  in  hand ;  but,  deprived  of  the  ready  use  of  this  in- 
strument, the  wisest  teacher  is  as  powerless  as  an  infant. 
What  is  the  office  of  language  in  the  communication  of 
knowledge  ?  Under  what  circumstances  is  this  commu- 
nication impossible?  In  what  sense  is  it  true  that  books 
embody  knowledge,  and  so  serve  to  transmit  the  net  prod- 
ucts of  human  thinking  from  generation  to  generation  ? 
These  plain-looking  questions  are  not  easy  to  answer. 
The  solution  of  these  problems  involves  the  very  phi- 
losophy of  language ;  and,  to  a  mind  predisposed  to  re- 
flective thinking,  here  is  a  field  of  study  of  unsurpassed 
interest.  What  I  wish  particularly  to  say  is  that  the  pro- 
fessional teacher  has  need  to  become  acquainted  with 
this  abstruse  philosophy  in  order  to  become  thoroughly 
furnished  for  the  deft  practice  of  his  art. 

By  way  of  recapitulation,  let  me  now  state  the  grounds 
on  which  teaching  should  be  included  in  the  professions. 

1.  Teaching  belongs  to  the  higher  category  of  intel- 
lectual employments,  involving  broad  scholarship,  the 
ability  to  make  nice  discriminations,  and  the  use  of  the 
highest  gifts  of  mind  and  heart. 

2.  The  professional  knowledge  required  is  abstruse, 
difficult  of  attainment,  demanding  intellectual  qualities 
of  a  high  order. 


232  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

3.  Men  in  general  are  incompetent  to  distinguish  be- 
tween fitness  and  unfitness  for  the  teaching  ofiice,  and 
the  consequences  of  malpractice  are  so  serious  that  soci- 
ety needs  to  be  formally  protected  against  imposture. 

4.  To  become  fit  for  the  practice  of  teaching,  in  the 
high  sense  here  intended,  is  such  an  arduous  undertaking 
that  society  should  hold  out  some  prospective  reward  to 
induce  men  and  women  of  talent  to  adopt  this  vocation. 

On  these  grounds  alone  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
teaching  is  as  much  entitled  to  professional  sanctions  as 
medicine  and  law. 

At  this  point  in  our  discussion  it  is  pertinent  to  in- 
quire whether  teaching  can  become  a  profession  in  the 
exact  sense  in  which  medicine  and  law  are  professions. 
To  this  question  candor  compels  me  to  give  a  negative 
reply ;  and  the  reasons  why  teaching  cannot  become  a 
close  corporation  like  the  professions  named  are  not  dif- 
ficult to  state. 

First  of  all,  a  teacher  must  be  a  scholar,  and  if  he  is  to 
be  a  teacher  of  real  power,  he  must  be  a  man  of  wide  and 
accurate  scholarship  ;  then,  to  his  general  scholarship, 
there  must  be  added  a  knowledge  of  the  best  methods 
of  doing  school  work ;  and,  finally,  the  real  teacher  must 
be  a  man  of  science,  he  must  know  the  why  of  his  art. 
Now,  as  good  scholarship  is  one  element  in  fitness  for 
teaching,  it  follows  that  all  good  scholars  are  qualified, 
in  part,  for  teaching.  On  the  side  of  scholarship,  then, 
there  is  free  admittance  to  the  teaching  vocation  ;  so  far, 
there  is  no  professional  line.  And  in  respect  of  method, 
the  case  is  not  much  better.  A  pupil  cannot  pass  through 
a  course  of  study  without  imbibing  its  methods  ;  and 
when  he  turns  teacher,  he  will  teach  as  he  was  taught ;  so 
that  we  may  say  here,  as  we  said  before,  that  all  good 


TEACHING  AS  A  TRADE  AND  AS  A  PROFESSION.      233 

scholars  have  partial  qualifications  for  teaching  —  they 
know  what  to  teach,  and  how  subjects  have  been  taught. 
So  far  there  has  been  no  appearance  of  a  body  of  pe- 
culiar knowledge  that  differentiates  the  teacher  from  the 
scholar ;  but  in  the  third  conception  we  have  noted  we 
find  this  specific  difference :  that  articulate  psychological 
knowledge  on  which  I  have  insisted,  the  knowledge  of 
education  values  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  philosophy  of  language  as  the  teaching  in- 
strument, are  items  that  do  not  enter  into  general  scholar- 
ship, but  in  their  applied  use  are  monopolized  by  the 
teaching  vocation.  To  recapitulate  what  I  liave  now  at- 
tempted to  say,  teaching  can  never  be  a  profession  in 
the  exclusive  sense  that  medicine  and  law  are  professions, 
for  the  reason  that  all  well-educated  men  and  women 
have  partial  qualifications  for  the  vocation.  The  profes- 
sional mark,  properly  so-called,  is  educational  science' 
this  is  the  specific  difference  that  distinguishes  the  species 
teacher  from  the  genus  scholar. 

From  this  last  statement  some  practical  inferences  of 
great  importance  can  be  drawn.  Suppose  it  is  thought 
desirable  to  intensify  the  professional  aspect  of  teaching, 
or  to  sharpen  the  distinction  between  the  teacher  and  the 
mere  scholar.  The  one  thing  needful  for  this  purpose  is 
to  make  a  knowledge  of  educational  science  an  essential 
for  obtaining  a  license  to  teach.  If  this  test  were  to  be 
applied,  the  vast  army  of  teachers  would  be  more  than 
decimated.  But  it  is  to  another  inference  that  I  wish  to 
call  attention  in  this  connection.  If  any  are  ambitious 
to  become  professional  teachers  in  the  exact  sense  of  the 
terra,  they  will  acquire  that  special  body  of  knowledge 
to  which  I  have  called  attention,  and,  by  so  doing,  they 
will  rise  from  the  "  sorry  trade  "  of  the  mere  schoolraas- 


234  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ter  to  *'  the  noblest  of  all  the  professions,"  that  of  educa- 
tor. 

To  shield  my  treatment  of  this  theme  from  being  too 
incomplete,  I  feel  bound  to  answer  another  question  that 
may  reasonably  be  asked.  Is  it  ever  to  be  expected  that 
all  who  teach  will  make  of  their  employment  a  profes- 
sion in  the  absolute  sense  that  has  been  described  I  Will 
the  time  ever  come  when  every  teacher  will  know  the 
what,  the  hoWj  and  the  why?  Probably  not.  For  rea- 
sons that  need  not  be  stated,  many  will  practise  this  art 
simply  as  an  avocation,  or  temporary  employment.  Such 
teachers  will  have  neither  the  professional  spirit,  nor  the 
professional  preparation.  But,  leaving  these  out  of  ac- 
count, there  will  always  be  a  large  number  of  those  who 
make  this  art  a  vocation  that  will  know  little  or  nothing 
of  the  science  of  teaching ;  but  if  such  are  well  versed 
in  rational  methods,  they  may  properly  be  included  in 
the  teaching  profession.  What  we  are  entitled  to  ex- 
pect, to  pray  for,  and  to  work  for,  is  that  there  shall  be 
a  growing  number  of  cultured  men  and  women  who  shall 
be  versed  in  education  both  as  an  art  and  as  a  science. 
Of  these  alone  it  may  be  said  that  thej  profess  their  art. 
They  are  professional  teachers  in  the  exact  sense  of  the 
term. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST. 

It  is  related  of  Rousseau  that,  on  the  occasion  of  one 
of  his  foot-journeys  through  France  and  Italy,  he  sought 
refreshment  and  rest  in  the  cabin  of  a  peasant ;  and  that 
the  wretchedness  and  misery  of  human  existence,  as  he 
there  saw  it,  inspired  him  at  the  same  time  with  a  pro- 
found sorrow  for  humanity  and  with  a  profound  hatred 
for  the  pride  and  the  oppression  of  the  powerful  and  the 
rich.  From  that  moment  an  unquenchable  fire  burned 
in  his  veins,  and  it  is  doubtless  to  that  shock  to  his  over- 
sensitive nature  that  we  owe  in  great  part  the  volume 
that  has  moved  the  human  heart  more  profoundly  than 
perhaps  any  other  that  has  been  produced  by  a  merely 
liuman  pen.  Like  too  many  others,  no  doubt,  I  have 
sometimes  been  offended  at  the  overcharged  sentiment 
and  the  paradox  that  abound  in  Eousseau's  masterpiece ; 
but  my  heart  is  touched  and  I  am  won  back  to  admi- 
ration and  gratitude  when  I  read  a  sentence  like  this : 
"  O  men,  be  humane  1  it  is  your  highest  duty ;  be  hu- 
mane to  all  conditions  of  men,  to  every  age,  to  everything 
not  alien  to  mankind.  What  higher  wisdom  is  there 
for  you  than  humanity  ?  Love  childhood ;  encourage  its 
sports,  its  pleasures,  its  lovable  instincts.  Who  among 
us  has  not  at  times  looked  back  with  regret  to  the  age 
when  a  smile  was  continually  on  our  lips,  when  the  soul 
was  always  at  peace  ?  Why  should  we  rob  these  little 
innocent  creatures  of  the  enjoyment  of  a  time  so  brief, 


236  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

60  transient,  of  a  boon  so  precious,  which  they  cannot 
misuse  ?"  * 

^is  Rousseau's  ardent  humanity  that  gives  a  degree 
of  unity,  consistency,  and  even  of  beauty,  to  a  life  other- 
wise disordered  and  full  of  wretched  inconsistencies.  He 
looked  upon  the  European  society  of  his  day  as  a  whited 
sepulchre.  Outwardly  there  were  the  pomp  of  power, 
the  glitter  of  wealth,  and  the  pageants  of  religion ;  but 
within  and  below  there  were  ignorance,  degradation,  and 
squalor.  Princes  despised  people,  and,  in  their  turn,  the 
people  hated  princes.  Between  the  rulers  and  the  ruled, 
between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  between  the  learned  and 
the  ignorant,  there  had  come  to  be  a  social  divorce;  be- 
tween the  few  and  the  many  there  was  a  great  gulf  fixed, 
and  this  gulf  the  few  did  Lot  wish  to  pass,  and  the  many 
liad  despaired  of  passing.  Rousseau  was  himself  a  man 
of  tlie  people,  and  in  him  there  seems  to  have  been  con- 
centrated the  conscious  sufEering  of  his  class ;  but  while 
the  peasantry  were  dumb,  benumbed,  perhaps,  by  their 
secular  oppression  and  sufferings,  Rousseau  had  a  voice 
full  of  pathos  and  persuasive  eloquence.  It  spoke  through 
the  "Emile"  and  awoke  the  people  to  self -conscious- 
ness. Authority,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  was  aroused  and 
alarmed,  and,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  it  took  refuge  in 
persecution  ;  but  this  Genevan  watchmaker's  son,  this 
inspired  tramp,  this  sentimental  philosopher,  had  fired 
a  train,  and  there  followed  the  awful  explosion  of  the 
French  Revolution.  The  social  divorce  was  not  healed, 
but  what  was  lowest  was  lifted  upward,  and  what  was 
highest  was  abased.  However,  the  growing  divergence 
ceased,  and  the  new  movement  was  towards  unity,  frater- 
nity, and  equality.  The  train  that  was  lighted  in  Eu- 
*  "fimile,"  Mis3  Woithington's  translation  (Boston,  1885),  p.  43. 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  237 

rope  had  its  first  effect  in  the  new  world.  The  Ameri- 
can Kevolution  was  but  the  prelude  to  the  French  Revo- 
lution. Both  events  were  triumphs  of  humanity  over 
oppression  ;  and  in  the  earlier  as  in  the  later,  no  account 
of  causes  can  fail  to  mention  the  pen  of  Rousseau.  The 
man  whose  ruling  passion  was  love  for  the  people^  was,  in 
the  hands  of  Providence,  an  unconscious  agent  in  mould- 
ing the  institutions  of  a  new  worhj,) 

Going  back  a  century  from  Kousseau's  time,  we  find 
another  man  whose  greatness  was  due  to  his  ardent  and 
exalted  humanity.  This  was  Comenius,  the  Moravian 
pastor,  whose  fame  reached  even  these  shores,  for  he  was 
invited  to  become  the  president  of  Harvard  College  in 
1654.  Comenius  had  more  balance  than  Rousseau.  In 
him  sentiment  was  tempered,  governed,  and  directed  by 
reason  and  religion.  He  not  only  felt,  but  he  saw.  He 
was  not  a  guide-post,  but  a  guide.  He  was  not  only  a 
great  educator,  as  Rousseau  was,  but  he  was  what  Rous- 
seau was  not  and  could  not  be,  a  great  teacher.  By  first 
intent  he  was  a  preacher,  but  he  loved  the  people  so  well 
that  he  became  a  teacher.  Learning,  which  in  his  time 
was  the  privilege  of  the  few,  was  to  be  made,  through  his 
proposed  organization  of  schools,  the  common  heritage 
of  the  many.  His  scheme  of  popular  enlightenment  was 
so  comprehensive  and  so  far-reaching,  that  every  home 
was  to  become  a  school.  He  did  not  write  an  educa- 
tional romance,  like  the  "  Emile,"  which  was  to  intoxi- 
cate through  sentiment ;  but  composed  a  school  manual, 
the  "Orbis  Pictus,"  which  was  translated  into  various 
languages,  and  for  two  centuries  was  the  universal  text- 
book for  popular  instruction,  and  is  the  parent  of  the 
modern  illustrated  child's  book.  The  greatness  of  Co- 
menius was  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  above  all  else  a 


238  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

philanthropist.  He  knew  the  people,  saw  their  wretch- 
edness, and  became  a  martyr  to  their  cause.  lie  believed 
that  the  people  were  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge, 
and  80  he  organized  instruction  as  the  means  of  their 
salvation. 

Coming  back  now  to  a  period  a  little  nearer  our 
own  time,  we  find  another  Swiss  youth  whose  soul  was 
•wrought  into  almost  preternatural  activity  by  his  love 
for  the  poor,  oppressed,  degraded  people.  His  first  im- 
pulse was  to  be  a  preacher,  but  his  diffidence  betrayed 
him  in  his  first  sermon — he  could  not  repeat  the  Lord's 
Prayer.  Then  he  thought  of  law,  but  some  unpleasant 
experiences  cooled  his  political  ardor.  Next  he  turned 
agriculturist,  because  he  saw  a  chance  for  the  regenera- 
tion of  the  people  through  the  organization  of  profitable 
industries.  But  his  madder-farming  failed,  he  was  re- 
duced to  poverty,  and  as  a  last  resort  he  set  up  a  school 
for  the  outcast  children  of  his  neighborhood.  This  was 
the  great  Pestalozzi,  the  story  of  whose  life  and  labors 
and  sufferings  is  among  the  most  pathetic  ever  written. 
From  his  twentieth  to  his  eightieth  year  he  had  but  a 
single  purpose,  to  relieve  the  wretchedness  of  his  poor 
countrymen.  He  had  discovered  that  political  reforms 
and  industrial  improvements  could  not  reach  the  seat  of 
the  social  disease ;  and  so,  laying  the  axe  to  the  very  root 
of  the  tree,  he  gathered  up  vagrant  children,  became  their 
housekeeper,  nurse,  servant,  and  teacher,  and  gave  them 
lessons  in  cleanliness,  good  manners,  morals,  and  in  the 
elements  of  an  education.  Here  is  a  picture  of  Pesta- 
lozzi's  school,  drawn  by  one  of  his  biographere :  *  "  There, 
in  the  midst  of  his  children,  he  forgot  that  there  was  any 
world  besides  his  asylum.  And  as  their  circle  was  an 
*  Biber,  <yp.  eit,  p.  34. 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  239 

universe  to  him,  so  was  he  to  them  all  in  all.  From 
morning  to  night  he  was  the  centre  of  their  existence. 
To  him  thej  owed  every  comfort  and  every  enjoyment; 
and  whatever  hardships  they  had  to  endure,  he  was  their 
fellow -sufferer.  He  partook  of  their  meals  and  slept 
among  them.  In  the  evening  he  prayed  with  them  be- 
fore they  went  to  bed ;  and  from  his  conversation  they 
dropped  into  the  arras  of  slumber.  At  the  first  dawn  of 
light  it  was  his  voice  that  called  them  to  the  rising  sun, 
and  to  the  praise  of  their  heavenly  Father.  All  day  he 
stood  among  them,  teaching  the  ignorant,  and  assisting 
the  helpless ;  encouraging  the  weak,  and  admonishing 
the  transgressor.  His  hand  was  daily  with  them,  joined 
in  theirs ;  his  eye,  beaming  with  intelligence,  rested  on 
theirs.  He  wept  when  they  wept,  and  rejoiced  when 
they  rejoiced.  He  was  to  them  a  father,  and  they  were 
to  him  as  children." 

At  first  thought  this  will  doubtless  appear  to  be  an 
extraordinary  method  of  conducting  a  school ;  but  I  have 
little  doubt  that  reflection  will  show  that  there  is  in  it 
an  element  of  perennial  value.  What  this  element  is  I 
can  best  illustrate  by  relating  the  following  occurrence : 
A  young  man  was  employed  by  wealthy  parents  to  take  in 
charge  the  education  of  an  imbecile  son.  This  boy  was 
so  low  in  the  scale  of  mentality  as  to  be  unable  to  stand, 
or  even  to  sit,  as  rational  beings  do,  but  his  usual  posture 
was  lying  at  full  length  on  the  floor.  After  considerable 
reflection  the  tutor  decided  to  put  himself  on  a  plane 
with  his  poor  pupil,  and  so  he  took  his  place  beside  him 
on  the  floor.  Then  presently  he  raised  himself  on  one 
arm,  and  flnally  his  pupil,  through  imitation,  raised  him- 
self to  this  extent.  After  many  lessons  of  this  sort  the 
tutor  took  the  sitting  posture ;  and  perseverance,  encour- 


340  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

agement,  and  trial  soon  brought  the  pupil  to  the  same 
posture.  In  the  end,  it  is  said  that  this  imbecile  boy  be- 
came a  man.  to  the  extent  that  he  could  both  stand  and 
walk. 

In  both  these  cases  the  element  of  power  is  nearness 
through  sympathy^  and  the  impulse  to  growth  comes 
through  the  effort  of  imitation.  But  what  was  the  power 
which  brought  the  teacher  down  to  a  level  with  his  pu- 
pils ?  It  was  the  feeling  of  benevolence,  of  humanity, 
of  philanthropy.  Pestalozzi  was,  above  all  else,  a  philan- 
thropist. 

But  what  could  one  such  school  do  for  the  regenera- 
tion of  Switzerland  ?  It  was  but  a  drop  on  a  parched 
desert.  Pestalozzi  saw  the  hopelessness  of  realizing  his 
great  purpose  through  any  direct  personal  effort  of  his 
own,  and  so  he  conceived  a  plan  worthy  of  a  statesman. 
This  was  nothing  less  than  to  make  of  every  mother  a 
teacher,  and  thus  to  convert  every  home  into  a  school. 
For  this  purpose  he  wrote  a  popular  romance — "  Leonard 
and  Gertrude  " — designed  at  once  to  inspire  mothers  with 
a  philanthropic  passion,  and  to  present,  under  the  attract- 
ive guise  of  fiction,  an  example  for  imitation.*  This 
work  had  an  extraordinary  popularity.  It  was  universal- 
ly read,  but,  alas !  it  was  not  understood.  It  pleased,  but 
it  did  not  inspire.  Its  real  spirit  and  purpose  were  whol- 
ly missed.  It  was  with  no  little  chagrin  that  the  good 
Pestalozzi  saw  the  failure  of  his  plan  ;  but,  such  was  the 

*  In  the  edition  of  1800  he  -writes,  "  I  desired  nothing  then,  and 
I  desire  nothing  else  now,  as  the  object  of  my  life,  but  the  welfare 
of  the  people,  whom  I  love,  and  whom  I  feel  to  be  miserable  as  few 
feel  them  to  be  miserable,  because  I  have  with  them  borne  their 
sufiferings  as  few  have  borne  them."  See  Quick,  "  Essays  on  Edu- 
cational Reformers,"  pp.  167, 168. 


THE  TEACnER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST,  241 

buoyancy,  sucli  the  hopefulness,  of  his  nature,  that  he 
wrote  a  second  book,  to  explain  the  meaning  and  the  pur- 
pose of  the  first.  This  was  his  "  Christopher  and  Eliza." 
This  was  doubtless  more  successful  than  the  first,  but  its 
immediate  effect  was  disappointing. 

I  narrate  these  facts  because  they  ar9  typical  of  Pesta- 
lozzi's  career  to  the  very  day  of  his  death.  From  the 
organization  of  his  madder-farm,  in  1769,  to  his  last 
school  at  Yverdun,  in  1824,  there  was  not  an  instance  in 
which  he  took  a  resolution  from  selfish  motives.  He 
literally  sacrificed  himself  for  the  good  of  the  poor,  the 
wretched,  and  the  ignorant.  He  says  of  himself,  "  A 
thousand  times  have  I  left  my  poor  children  seated  about 
a  table  at  their  meals  while  I  devoured  a  crust  by  the 
highway." 

Tried  by  modern  standards,  Pestalozzi's  schools  were 
failures.  The  disorder  was  pitiable,  and  the  positive 
instruction  was  slight.  All  his  days  he  was  groping  his 
uncertain  way  after  a  "  method."  He  felt  intensely,  but 
he  saw  obscurely.  His  benevolence,  generosity,  and  good- 
ness were  boundless,  and  so  was  his  credulity.  He  was 
as  simple,  unaffected,  and  trustful  as  a  child,  and  so  was 
the  easy  dupe  of  the  jealous  and  the  ambitious.  What, 
then,  was  the  secret  of  Pestalozzi's  power?  How  has 
it  happened  that  this  Swiss  peasant,  this  ignorant  and 
uncouth  man,  this  itinerant  teacher,  has  made  a  name 
and  secured  an  influence  in  the  world  which  have  insured 
his  immortality?  It  was  his  absolute  devotion  to  the 
good  of  his  kind.  It  was  his  quenchless  love  for  the 
poor  people.  Without  denying  Pestalozzi  the  merit  of 
having  made  some  contributions  to  method,  it  is  perfect- 
ly hopeless  to  account  for  his  greatness  on  this  score.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  the  man,  and  not  his  method,  which  enti- 

11 


242  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ties  him  to  a  pre-eminent  place  among  the  great  names  in 
the  history  of  education. 

Wliat  I  have  said  of  Pestalozzi  is  true,  though,  per- 
haps in  a  less  degree,  of  Froebel.  His  inspiration  was 
his  love  for  childhood.  Children,  irt  his  conception,  were 
as  tender  plants,  tp  be  carefully  and  lovingly  trained,  and 
the  teacher  was  a  workman  in  this  human  garden.  The 
school  was,  therefore,  a  kindergarten.  The  only  part  of 
the  teaching  service  in  this  country  that  is  dominated 
distinctively  by  the  philanthropic  spirit  is  the  kindergar- 
ten service.  What  I  mean  is,  that  this  is  the  only  part 
of  the  service  to  which  women  and  men  devote  them- 
selves from  purely  humanitarian  motives.  The  spirit 
that  animates  and  actuates  the  kindergartener  is  the 
very  spirit  that  calls  the  missionary  across  the  sea  to  the 
dark  continent.  This  is  the  spirit  of  Miss  Peabody  and 
of  Mrs.  Mann,  and  of  the  whole  army  of  women  who  are 
now  organizing  the  kindergarten  in  the  great  cities  of  the 
country.  Froebel's  real  "gift,"  infinitely  more  valuable 
than  the  cylinder,  the  sphere,  and  the  cube,  is  the  love 
for  childhood  that  his  ardent  zeal  has  inspired  in  the 
hearts  of  his  disciples.  The  power  of  the  kindergarten, 
as  it  seems  to  me,  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  teacher,  so  to 
speak,  now  listens  to  the  heart-beats  of  the  little  child. 

Surely,  in  further  illustration  of  the  fact  that  the 
world's  greatest  teachers  have  been  inspired  by  a  love 
for  ignorant  and  sufiering  humanity,  I  need  not  dwell  at 
length  on  the  story  of  the  Nazarene  peasant,  the  carpen- 
ter's son,  who,  by  his  sufferings  and  services,  has  become 
exalted  over  every  other  name  in  the  annals  of  time. 
But  have  we  sufficiently  reflected  on  the  fact  that  Jesus 
owes  his  awful  pre-eminence  among  reformers  to  his 
perfect  condescensiou  to  men  of  low  estate,  to  his  frank 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  243 

companionship  with  publicans  and  sinners,  to  his  holy 
ministrations  to  the  disinherited  of  this  world?  In  all 
tliat  marvellous  life  there  is  nothing  more  significant  or 
more  touching  than  the  fact  that  ignorance,  weakness, 
and  sin,  instead  of  repelling  Jesus  from  men,  drew  him 
into  closer  sympathy  with  them.  We  may  almost  say 
that  he  loved  men  because  they  were  sinful  and  vile. 
The  first  quality  in  this  ministration  was  an  infinite 
pity  for  the  lowly  sufferers  of  this  world ;  and  its  pur- 
pose was  to  plant  in  each  human  soul  an  inspiring 
and  protecting  hope  for  a  better  and  a  happier  here- 
after. 

All  the  great  reforms  in  politics,  in  religion,  and  iu 
education  have  consisted,  essentially,  in  securing  to  the 
people  some  right  of  which  they  had  been  deprived. 
Keform  thus  implies  the  monopoly  of  certain  things  by 
those  who  chance  to  be  invested  with  authority  and  pow- 
er; and  it  also  implies  that  suffering  is  caused  by  the 
withholding  of  these  things  from  those  who  are  entitled 
to  them.  Thus,  in  France,  prior  to  the  revolution,  there 
was  royalty,  haughty  and  defiant,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
on  the  other  the  poor  people,  weary  and  heavy  laden. 
Could  power  always  be  arrogant  and  unpitying?  Would 
the  people  always  suffer  in  silence  under  their  secular 
burdens?  Had  Louis  XYI.  put  his  ear  to  the  ground 
lie  might  have  heard  the  rumbling  that  foretells  the 
earthquake.  But  he  did  not,  and  so  the  shock  came, 
liis  throne  was  overturned,  and  he  perished  in  that 
awful  night  of  pitiless  storm.  George  III.  heard  the 
sounds  of  discontent  from  his  American  colonies,  but  he 
did  not  interpret  them  aright,  or,  at  least,  he  did  not 
heed  them,  and  so  our  revolution  came,  and  the  people 
gained  by  force  what  should  have  been  given  them  as  a 


244  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

right.  For  wearj  years  England  has  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  the  pathetic  story  of  Ireland's  wrongs,  and  the  pre- 
monitory shocks  of  revolution  have  been  felt  in  the  Par- 
liament House.  But  there  is  one  man  "who  hears  and 
heeds  the  groans  of  this  brave  and  oppressed  people; 
and  this  humane  commoner,  through  the  very  power  of 
his  humanity,  is  at  this  hour  the  great  statesman  of 
Europe.  As  we  think  of  the  renewed  ascendency  of 
Gladstone  in  British  politics,  we  can  but  repeat  Iwous- 
seau's  eloquent  period  :  "  O  men,  be  humane !  it  is  yonr 
highest  duty ;  be  humane  to  all  conditions  of  men,  to 
every  age,  to  everything  not  alien  to  mankind.  What 
higher  wisdom  is  there  for  yon  than  humanity  ?" 

I  need  not  attempt  to  show  how  revolutions  and  ref- 
ormations are  made  necessary  by  power  that  has  grown 
haughty,  cruel,  and  relentless,  or  by  wealth  that  has  be- 
come selfish,  proud,  and  heartless,  or  by  religion  that  has 
degenerated  into  a  soulless  formalism  or  an  oflBcial  cer- 
emonial ;  but  I  will  dwell  for  a  moment  on  an  analo- 
gous fact  which  is  not  so  obvious,  and  which  will  bring 
me  nearer  my  present  purpose. 

Even  learning  is  disposed  to  become  aristocratic,  and 
to  intrench  itself  behind  its  prerogatives.  In  all  ages 
of  the  world  men  have  made  a  monopoly  of  wisdom. 
Anciently  the  priestly  class  was  powerful,  because  it  was 
the  only  instructed  class,  and  it  perpetuated  its  authority 
by  maintaining  a  strict  monopoly  of  its  inherited  wis- 
dom. Popular  ignorance  was  the  condition  of  priestly 
supremacy.  At  this  very  moment  the  doctrine  is  held 
in  more  than  one  quarter  that  knowledge  predisposes 
men  to  be  dissatisfied  with  their  ancestral  condition,  and 
that  the  only  way  to  keep  men  in  a  contented,  docile, 
and  manageable  condition  is  to  keep  them  comparatively 


THE  TEACHER   AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  345 

ignorant.  The  educational  problem  in  England  is,  at 
this  moment,  complicated  by  a  fear  of  what  might  hap- 
pen if  the  lower  classes  were  to  be  too  highly  in- 
structed. 

In  some  quarters  there  is  a  disposition,  both  in  prac- 
tice and  in  theory,  to  administer  education  on  a  princi- 
ple which  is  a  virtual  recognition  of  caste  distinctions. 
In  practice,  this  disposition  is  seen  in  attempts  to  convert 
school  instruction  into  an  apprenticeship  to  a  trade,  as 
though  the  prime  purpose  of  education  were  to  fit  pu- 
pils, some  for  carpentry,  some  for  shoeraaking,  others 
for  farming,  etc.  I  interpret  the  present  agitation  in 
favor  of  industrial  education  partly  in  this  sense.  In 
theory,  this  disposition  is  seen  particularly  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Mr.  Spencer's  "Education,"  where  the  worth 
of  knowledge  is  tested  solely  by  the  practical  use  that 
can  be  made  of  it ;  a  child  must  be  taught  that  which 
will  soonest  and  most  effectually  convert  him  into  an 
instrument.  In  no  part  of  this  famous  chapter  do  I  dis- 
cover a  sentence  that  can  be  interpreted  in  favor  of  a 
liberal  education ;  that  is,  of  an  education  that  is  catho- 
lic and  humane,  or  that  is  to  be  administered  on  the  hy- 
pothesis that  the  child's  humanity  takes  precedence  of 
his  functions  as  an  instrument.  On  this  subject  Renan 
speaks  as  follows :  "  The  reasoning  that  I  oppose  starts 
from  the  low  and  false  doctrine  that  instruction  serves 
only  for  the  practical  use  that  is  made  of  it.  .  .  .  The 
poor  man  should  be  ignorant,  for  education  and  knowl- 
edge are  useless  to  him.  Blasphemj',  gentlemen  !  The 
culture  of  the  mind  and  the  soul  are  duties  for  every 
man.  They  are  not  simply  ornaments.  They  are  things 
as  sacred  as  religion."  * 

*  "  La  Famine  et  I'fltat,"  p.  3.     See,  also,  p.  48  of  this  volume. 


246  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

I  think  there  is  some  ground  for  fearing  that  the 
schools  may  be  drawn  into  false  tendencies  through  the 
administration  of  education  by  the  literary  or  scholarly 
class.  Is  it  not  at  least  possible  that  professional  teach- 
ers, who  are,  or  should  be,  men  and  women  of  scholarly 
tastes  and  habits,  may  administer  education  on  the  liy- 
pothesis  that  their  pupils  are  destined  for  the  scholarly 
vocation  ?  Is  it  not  possible,  in  other  words,  that  a  teach- 
er, in  drawing  up  a  course  of  study,  may  unconsciously 
obey  his  own  instincts  and  tastes,  instead  of  putting 
himself  in  the  place  of  the  boys  and  girls  who  are  to  be 
farmers,  artisans,  tradesmen,  housewives,  etc.?  It  mnst 
be  held,  I  think,  that  the  major  effort  of  the  school  should 
be  directed  to  the  training  of  men  and  women,  and  not 
of  laborers,  artisans,  etc. ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  fact 
that  these  men  and  women  must  become  bread-winners 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of.  The  school  mnst  not  be  con- 
ducted on  the  hypothesis  that  its  pupils  are  to  be  profes- 
sional scholars.  I  believe  it  fo  be  a  fact  that,  to  some  de- 
gree— slight,  perhaps — the  schools  have  been  allowed  to 
drift  away  from  the  people,  to  ignore  their  wishes  and 
wants,  and  so  to  encourage  the  formation  of  an  intellect- 
ual aristocracy.  The  higher  we  go  in  the  scholastic  or- 
ganization, the  greater  this  danger,  and  the  more  pro- 
nounced this  tendency.  I  think  there  must  be  some  truth 
in  the  widespread  feeling  that  the  high  school  does  not 
sufficiently  respond  to  popular  needs.  I  decline  to  be 
quoted  as  sympathizing  with  the  periodical  attacks  made 
by  demagogues  on  the  high  school.  My  only  purpose  is 
to  call  attention  to  a  source  of  danger  in  high-school  ad- 
ministration. 

Might  not  our  highest  institutions  of  learning  be 
brought  into  closer  sympathy  and  relations  with  the  peo- 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  347 

pie  ?  I  wish  that  every  boy  who  follows  the  plough  with 
a  book  in  his  pocket,  and  feels  an  hourly  thirst  for  intel- 
lectaal  improvement,  might  not  be  overawed  by  tlie 
apprehension  of  a  formidable  entrance  examination.  I 
wish  that  all  such  might  feel  that  the  college  or  the  uni- 
versity will  gladly  lend  to  them  a  sympathetic  and  a 
helping  hand ;  will,  at  least,  grant  them  an  opportunity 
to  succeed.  I  am  growing  more  and  more  convinced 
that  an  earnest  purpose  is  often  more  than  an  equivalent 
for  technical  scholarship.  But  how  many  examiners  take 
note  of  these  moral  qualities?  They  have  been  trained 
to  discern  a  misplaced  accent  or  a  false  quantity  or  an 
incorrect  date.  There  is  no  doubt  that  many  a  talented 
boy  has  lost  the  opportunity  for  the  higher  intellectual 
culture  through  the  force  of  such  technicalities.  If,  at 
the  first,  such  a  boy  can  put  only  one  foot  on  the  college 
campus,  let  him  do  it. 

There  are  many  gains,  but  there  is  also  some  loss,  in 
making  an  art  like  teaching  a  vocation  or  profession.  The 
loss  consists  in  making  the  teacher's  duties  more  or  less 
formal,  divested  of  the  halo  of  sympathy  and  emotion. 
Who  has  not  listened  to  church  services  that  were  purely 
formal,  hollow,  and  heartless?  The  sermon  was  not  ad- 
dressed to  dying  men,  who  had  immortal  souls  to  save. 
The  minister  was  paid  for  preaching  an  hour,  and  he 
preached  an  hour.  The  prayer  was  a  necessary  acces- 
sory, and  so  it  was  uttered ;  but  it  echoed  the  aspiration 
of  no  penitent  soul.  There  is  much  teaching,  as  there 
is  some  preaching  and  praying  and  singing,  that  is  purely 
perfunctory ;  it  has  no  quickening  or  vitalizing  power, 
because  it  is  not  inspired  by  sympathy  and  emotion.  In 
such  teaching  there  is  no  sense  of  nearness  to  the  pupil. 
The  philanthropic  instinct  is  wanting.     It  is  as  though 


248  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  instruction  were  addressed  to  matter  and  not  to 
heart  and  spirit  and  life. 

In  what  has  preceded  I  have  tried  to  show  that  to  be 
a  teacher  in  deed  and  in  truth  is,  first  of  all,  to  be  pos- 
sessed by  the  philanthropic  spirit ;  that  the  world's  great 
teachers  have  been  inspired  by  philanthropic  motives; 
and  that  the  secret  of  individual  power  in  teaching  is  a 
profound  sympathy  for  human  weakness,  ignorance,  and 
suffering.  I  have,  also,  stated  some  reasons  for  thinking 
that  modern  tendencies  are  somewhat  away  from  this 
humanitarian  ideal.  In  what  follows,  my  purpose  is  to 
suorgrest  some  correctives  of  these  tendencies. 

1.  Some  yeai*s  ago  a  certain  state  agricultural  college 
was  in  great  disfavor  with  the  farmers  in  whose  interest 
it  had  been  established.  These  sons  of  toil  looked  with 
contempt  upon  "book  farming,"  and  spoke  derisively  of 
kid-gloved  college  professors  who  raised  hogs  and  tur- 
nips by  rule.  But  a  happy  inspiration  came  to  this  col- 
lege faculty.  For  a  few  weeks  in  each  year  this  agricult- 
ural school  was  put  on  wheels,  so  to  speak,  and  taken  to 
the  very  doors  of  farmers  and  dairymen.  In  other  terms, 
"farmers'  institutes"  were  held  in  various  sections  of 
the  state,  for  the  discussion  of  agricultural  questions  of 
current  interest.  The  theoretical  farmer  was  thus  brought 
face  to  face  with  the  practical  farmer.  The  gain  was 
mutual.  The  farmer  became  interested  in  looking  at 
questions  from  their  theoretical  side,  and  learned  to  re- 
spect men  who  were  devoting  earnest  lives  to  the  scien- 
tific study  of  agricultural  questions.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  college  professor  learned  the  practical  limitations  to 
his  theories ;  was  brought  into  hearty  sympathy  with  the 
earnest  men  who  form  the  very  basis  of  the  nation's  pros- 
perity, and  learned  to  respect  the  practical  wisdom  of  men 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  249 

who  had  been  taught  fn  the  school  of  experience.  In  a 
word,  misconception  and  prejudice  disappeared,  the  gulf 
between  college  and  people  was  filled,  and  there  came  the 
era  of  mutual  confidence  and  respect. 

2.  In  another  case,  a  state  university  was  languishing 
from  a  lack  of  popular  appreciation.  The  institution  was 
regarded  as  a  literary  aristocracy,  proud  in  its  preroga- 
tives, and  regardless  of  popular  wants  and  wishes.  By 
concerted  action,  during  the  long  vacation,  the  faculty 
was  distributed  over  the  state,  and,  by  popular  addresses 
and  personal  intercourse,  came  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
homes  of  the  people.  Again,  there  was  a  disappearance 
of  mutual  misconception  and  prejudice;  young  men  and 
women  of  scholarly  aspirations  found  sympathizing 
and  helpful  friends,  and,  with  the  opening  of  tlie  new 
college  year,  their  names  were  added  to  the  students'  roll. 
"  Science  never  ascends,"  it  has  been  well  said ;  and  it 
cannot  be  too  often  repeated  that,  between  the  people 
and  the  institutions  of  the  country,  there  must  be  open 
communication,  and  that  the  more  highly  privileged  must 
come  down  to  the  people  as  the  condition  of  drawing 
men  to  them. 

3.  Some  years  ago  I  knew  a  village  which  was  a  by- 
word and  an  offence  by  reason  of  its  unsavory  reputation 
on  the  score  of  morals.  In  the  language  of  the  country 
around  about,  the  name  of  this  village  was  a  paraphrase 
for  Sheol.  The  school  partook  of  the  common  desola- 
tion. Men  who  had  a  name  to  make  or  a  name  to 
keep  passed  by  on  the  other  side.  But,  finally,  a  man 
who  had  been  graduated  from  a  normal  school,  and  was 
full  of  energy,  benevolence,  and  good  sense,  assumed  the 
principalship  of  this  school,  and,  in  an  unpretending  way, 
began  the  process  of  regeneration  within.     He  drew  h\s 

11* 


250  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

pupils  to  him  by  liis  sympathy  and  slieer  good-hearted- 
ness.  Teacher  and  pupil  moved  on  a  common  plane  of 
civility,  respect,  and  helpfulness.  The  new  spirit  soon 
extended  to  the  home-circle,  and  teacher  and  parents  were 
brought  into  mutual  sympathy  and  accord.  Then  the  pa- 
cific contagion  spread  over  the  whole  town,  and  even  in- 
vaded the  country.  The  teacher  became  a  citizen.  He 
was  not  a  stranger  and  an  alien,  lie  never  forced  him- 
self upon  public  attention  or  into  a  public  place ;  but  in 
whatever  affected  the  public  good  he  bore  a  personal  part. 
Were  there  sickness,  suffering,  and  destitution  in  a  family 
represented  in  his  school  ?  A  mute  messenger  was  sent 
on  errands  of  mercy.  Scarcely  a  Christmas  day  passed 
in  which  some  destitute  family  did  not  enjoy  an  unex- 
pected feast.  Years  have  passed,  approaching  a  score,  I 
think,  since  that  humane  movement  began,  but  school 
and  village  and  teacher  have  all  prospered,  and  all  are 
still  engaged  in  these  mutual  benefactions.  The  name 
of  this  village  has  lost  its  sinister  connotation,  and  citi- 
zen and  neighbor  alike  speak  of  it  with  respect.  The 
name  of  this  man  might  have  been  Gliilphi,  and  the 
school  had  more  than  one  Gertrude.  The  village  is, 
certainly,  another  Bonnal. 

4.  Still  further  back  than  the  experiences  just  related 
is  the  vivid  recollection  of  a  country  school  in  its  winter 
session,  taught  by  a  young  man  of  Quaker  parentage, 
who  had  received  an  academic  education.  The  larere 
school  and  almost  numberless  classes  left  this  teacher  but 
little  opportunity,  during  school  hours,  for  leaving  a  per- 
sonal impress  on  his  pupils;  but  the  long  winter  even- 
ings, spent  in  various  conversation  with  the  families  of 
the  district,  by  their  own  firesides,  left  a  profound  and 
wholesome  effect  upon  the  impressible  minds  of  the 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  231 

children.  It  was,  at  least,  the  beginning  of  a  liberal  ed- 
ucation to  listen  to  intelligent  and  thoughtful  conversa- 
tion on  men  and  books  and  the  current  topics  of  the  day. 
The  genial,  hearty  manner  of  the  teacher  had  an  insinu- 
ating power  quite  difficult  to  describe.  The  general  im- 
pression on  the  younger  minds  was  a  somewhat  vague, 
tliough  delicious,  aspiration  for  better  things.  To  some 
there  was  revealed,  in  the  dim  distance,  the  apparition  of 
the  academy,  and,  still  beyond,  that  of  the  college,  and, 
beyond  all,  the  vision  of  a  literary  life,  blessed  with  the 
companionship  of  books  and  cultured  friends.  One  even- 
ing, as  this  teacher  was  accompanying  a  lad  belonging 
to  this  school  to  his  home,  he  said  to  his  pupil, "  Would 
you  not  like  to  go  to  the  academy  next  fall  ?"  The  boy's 
dearest  secret,  confessed  to  no  one  on  earth  save  to  his 
mother,  had  now  to  be  revealed.  Such  an  anticipation 
was  almost  too  sacred  to  be  talked  about.  Was  not  such 
a  thing  too  good  to  be  possible?  And,  then,  would  a 
boy  with  so  little  knowledge  be  received  ?  The  teacher 
suggested  algebra  and  geometry  as  studies  for  the  pres- 
ent winter,  and  pointed  out  the  general  requirements 
that  would  be  expected.  In  a  word,  the  boy's  destiny 
v/as  virtually  settled  during  that  winter  evening's  walk. 
A  human  soul  had  found  its  interpreter  and  guide.  A 
beginning  was  made  in  the  new  life,  and,  one  after  an- 
other, the  boy's  visions  became  realities. 

5.  In  the  course  of  my  professional  life  I  have  seen 
young  people  begin  the  work  of  teaching  under  almost 
all  circumstances,  but  one  incident  in  this  line  has  left  a 
peculiar  impression  on  my  mind.  A  young  man  who 
had  carried  his  preparation  but  a  little  way  beyond  the 
common  school  felt  an  almost  irresistible  impulse  to 
teach.     But  could  he  obtain  a  license?     Ay,  that  was 


253  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  rub !  The  consciousness  of  liis  deficiencies  made 
him  almost  sliudder  at  the  thought  of  an  examination. 
Still,  he  resolved  to  make  the  trial.  For  prudential  rea- 
sons, he  concealed  his  purpose  from  his  family,  and  on  a 
Saturday  made  his  way  across  the  fields  to  the  house  of 
the  township  examiner.  The  good  man  was  found  in 
a  field  by  the  roadside.  The  trembling  wretch  made 
known  his  errand,  and,  with  a  cheerful  consent,  the  ex- 
aminer left  his  plough,  and  led  the  way  to  the  plain  and 
rather  sombre  sitting-room  where  the  inquest  was  to  be 
held.  The  trial  bore  rather  lightly  on  reading,  spelling, 
arithmetic,  and  geography ;  and,  though  the  procedure 
of  the  inspector  was  kind  and  courteous,  the  candidate 
was  overwhelmed  by  the  revelations  of  his  ignorance. 
Out  of  a  full  heart  he  would  have  pronounced  himself 
unfit  to  receive  a  single  line  of  approval.  But  the  ex- 
aminer was  less  censorious  than  the  candidate.  He  placed 
before  the  sufferer  a  book  of  blank  forms,  and  instructed 
him  to  draw  a  copy  of  a  license  to  teach.  Hope  then 
revived  a  little,  and  the  labor  of  writing  began.  The 
hand,  cramped  and  awkward  at  best,  was  now,  through 
the  fever  of  nervous  excitement,  preternaturally  bad. 
But,  as  all  things  finally  come  to  an  end,  this  feat  of 
penmanship  at  last  ended,  and,  when  the  examiner  had 
scanned  it,  with  the  pretence  of  having  read  it,  he  affixed 
his  signature,  and  from  that  moment  there  was  another 
teacher  in  the  world.  On  his  homeward  road,  that  boy 
walked  as  though  on  air.  His  predominant  feeling  was 
that  of  gratitude.  He  was  keenly  conscious  that  he  had 
been  licensed  in  spite  of  his  deficiencies  in  scholarship, 
and  that  he  had  been  credited  with  ability  in  posse,  per- 
haps with  good  intent  and  steadfast  purpose.  However, 
he  formed  a  sacred  resolution  to  justify  the  confidence  of 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  253 

his  good  friend,  and  to  deserve  by  his  work  what  he 
would  not  claim  on  the  ground  of  present  attainment. 
The  lesson  I  am  taught  by  this  incident  is  this — benevo- 
lent insight  is  often  wiser  than  ofHcial  wisdom. 

An  illustration  of  the  same  sort  is  found  in  the  life  of 
Kriisi,  one  of  Pestalozzi's  most  famous  assistants.  "He 
was  eighteen,  and  till  then  his  only  employment  had  been 
that  of  a  pedler  for  his  father.  One  day,  as  he  was  go- 
ing about  his  business  with  a  heavy  load  of  merchandise 
on  his  shoulders,  he  met  on  the  road  a  revenue  oflBcer  of 
the  state,  and  they  entered  into  conversation.  'Do  you 
know,'  said  the  oflScer, '  that  the  teacher  of  Gais  is  about 
to  leave  his  school?  Would  you  not  like  to  succeed 
him?'  'It  is  not  a  question  of  what  I  would  like;  a 
schoolmaster  should  have  knowledge,  in  which  I  am  ab- 
solutely lacking.'  '  What  a  schoolmaster  can  and  should 
know,  with  us,  you  might  easily  learn  at  your  age.' 
"  Kriisi  reflected,  went  to  work,  and  copied  more  than 
a  hundred  times  a  specimen  of  writing  which  he  had 
procured ;  and  he  declares  that  this  was  his  only  prepa- 
ration. He  registered  for  examination.  The  day  for 
the  trial  arrived. 

" '  There  were  but  two  competitors  of  us,'  he  says. 
'  The  principal  test  consisted  in  writing  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  to  this  I  gave  my  closest  attention.  I  had 
observed  that,  in  German,  use  was  made  of  capital  let- 
ters, but  I  did  not  know  the  rule  for  their  use,  and  took 
them  for  ornaments.  So  I  distributed  mine  in  a  sym- 
metrical manner,  so  that  some  were  found  even  in  the 
middle  of  words.     In  fact,  neither  of  us  knew  anything. 

"'When  the  examination  had  been  estimated,  I  was 
summoned,  and  Captain  Schcepfer  informed  me  that  the 
examiners  had  found  us  both  deficient ;  that  my  compet- 


254  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

itor  read  the  better,  but  tliat  I  excelled  him  in  writing; 
.  .  .  that,  besides,  my  apartment,  being  larger  than  that 
of  the  other  candidate,  was  better  fitted  for  holding  a 
school,  and,  finally,  that  I  was  elected  to  the  vacant 
place.' " 

And  then  the  historian  adds,  "  Is  it  not  well  to  be  in- 
dulgent to  teachers  whom  we  meet  on  the  highway,  who 
scarcely  know  how  to  write,  and  whom  a  captain  com- 
missions ?"  * 

I  do  not  wish  these  illustrations  to  be  interpreted  in 
such  a  way  as  to  sanction  a  superficial  examination  of 
candidates  for  the  teaching  ofiice.  What  I  have  partic- 
ularly in  mind  is  the  need  of  making  keener  discrimina- 
tions in  forming  an  estimate  of  the  elements  of  a  teach- 
er's qualifications.  Almost  any  bungler  can  determine 
whether  the  answers  to  examination  questions  are  for- 
mally right  or  wrong,  and  can  sum  up  the  marks  and  find 
the  general  average ;  but  it  requires  exceptional  talent  to 
gauge  the  manliness,  the  reserve  power,  and  the  scholarly 
instincts  which,  after  all,  constitute  the  elements  of  fit- 
ness for  teaching.  1  would  like  to  whisper  in  the  exam- 
iner's ear  the  need  of  searching  for  these  high  moral 
qualities.  When  they  are  found,  they  should  be  cred- 
ited far  above  mere  technical  scholarship,  and,  where 
they  are  wanting,  excellence  in  such  scholarship  should 
not  entitle  the  candidate  to  a  license.  Of  late,  examina- 
tions have  been  the  subject  of  much  indiscriminating 
and  unjust  criticism.  I  think  the  chief  fault  in  them 
lies  in  the  direction  I  have  indicated.  The  principle  in- 
volved in  these  illustrations  is  just  as  applicable  to  the 
examination  of  pupils  as  of  teachers. 

6.  In  the  treatment  of  subordinate  teachers  by  super- 
•  Compayrd,  op.  cit.,  pp.  432,  433. 


THE  TEACHER  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST.  255 

intcndents  and  principals  there  is  frequent  occasion  to 
employ  the  suggestions  of  the  philanthropic  spirit.  The 
following  case  is  typical  of  many  that  might  be  men- 
tioned. A  young  woman  of  good  intellectual  attain- 
ments and  sterling  moral  qualities  was  put  in  charge  of 
a  somewhat  difficult  ward  school.  Her  power  of  disci- 
pline proved  to  be  weak,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  term 
it  seemed  almost  perfectly  plain,  so  far  as  surface  in- 
struction went,  that  she  should  not  be  re-employed.  But 
the  thought  occurred,  would  it  not  be  almost  a  crime  to 
execute  summary  judgment  on  so  good  a  woman,  who 
was  possessed  of  such  an  heroic  determination  to  suc- 
ceed ?  This  humane  suggestion  was  followed,  some  sim- 
ple rules  for  governing  were  proposed,  and  another  chance 
was  given.  The  second  term  showed  a  slight  improve- 
ment, but  the  old  question  came  up  for  debate,  and  it 
was  again  decided  in  the  teacher's  favor.  For  the  third 
term  there  was  more  help  from  the  superior,  and  a  more 
determined  effort  by  the  subordinate  ;  and  so  these  trials 
were  renewed  for  the  space  of  two  years.  Success  final- 
ly came,  and  in  large  measure ;  and  that  superintendent 
sometimes  almost  trembles  at  the  thought  of  an  injustice 
that  hasty  conclusions  might  have  done  a  noble  woman. 

7.  It  might  sound  harsh  to  inquire  if  some  boards  of 
education  are  not  inhuman  in  their  treatment  of  teach- 
ers, so  let  the  inquiry  be  softened,  and  let  us  ask  if  teach- 
ers are  at  all  times  treated  as  humanely  as  the  Golden 
Rule  requires.  One  or  two  statements  of  fact  will  illus- 
trate my  meaning. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  the  preceptress  of  a  certain 
high-school  was  not  formally  re-engaged,  but  was  given 
to  understand  that  she  was  expected  to  return.  She 
went  to  her  home  in  the  East  to  spend  her  vacation,  leav. 


256  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ing  behind  her  the  greater  part  of  her  wardrobe,  her 
books,  etc.  Within  a  few  days  an  oflScial  note  reached 
her,  stating  that  her  services  in  the  school  were  no  longer 
required  1 

In  another  citj,  as  sometimes  happens  by  a  sudden 
turn  in  the  political  tide,  the  school  board  was  invaded 
by  demagogues.  Contrary  to  a  custom  of  long  standing, 
through  some  flimsy  pretext  the  teachers  were  not  re- 
employed in  June,  but,  as  in  the  last  case,  all  were  given 
to  understand  that  they  would  be  reappointed.  Several 
repaired  to  a  distant  and  inaccessible  summer  resort  to 
spend  their  vacation,  and  had  no  sooner  become  settled  in 
their  rustic  home  than  the  news  came  that  their  succes- 
sors had  been  appointed  ! 

In  both  these  cases  the  moral  cowardice  is  too  evident 
to  need  special  notice ;  but  the  criminal  injustice  done 
these  teachers  becomes  more  apparent  when  we  consider 
the  fact  that  they  were  virtually  debarred  the  opportuni- 
ty to  find  other  situations. 

Many  more  such  illustrations  might  be  given,  but  I 
trust  these  will  suffice  to  enforce  the  thought  I  have  tried 
to  express — that,  in  all  departments  of  educational  work, 
there  is  a  decided  tendency  towards  formalism,  and  that 
there  should  be  a  return  towards  an  ardent  philanthropy. 

"O  men,  be  humane!  it  is  your  highest  duty;  be  hu- 
mane to  all  conditions  of  men,  to  every  age,  to  every- 
thing not  alien  to  mankind." 


CHAPTEE  XV. 
EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY. 

What  lias  been  said  of  constitutions  may  as  truly  be 
said  of  universities,  that  they  are  not  made,  but  grow. 

The  modern  university  is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the 
first  solitary  thinker  who,  inspired  by  a  great  thought  of 
his  own  moulding,  provoked  in  another  mind  a  love  for 
thinking.  In  process  of  time  these  solitary  thinkers 
drew  around  them  little  bands  of  affectionate  disciples, 
and  so  the  circle  of  light  became  larger.  Then,  when 
scholars  had  a  past  behind  them,  when  there  had  come 
to  be  accumulations  of  knowledge,  there  arose  the  im- 
pulse of  diffusion,  and  so  instruction  was  organized,  and 
the  inherited  wisdom  was  communicated  to  those  who 
had  just  espoused  the  scholarly  vocation. 

This  organized  effort  to  distribute  accumulated  knowl- 
edge was  the  beginning  of  that  corporation  now  known 
as  the  university.  This  institution,  therefore,  has  come 
to  us,  in  the  fulness  of  time,  as  an  evolution  or  a  growth. 
Universities  are  like  constitutions  in  another  respect — 
they  not  only  grow,  but  they  grow  slowly.  Systems  of 
education  are  the  products  of  the  times;  they  follow  in 
the  wake  of  political  and  social  changes,  and,  as  civili- 
zation itself  is  a  thing  of  slow  growth,  universities  ever 
have  been,  and  must  continue  to  be,  conservative. 

But,  nevertheless,  university  progress  is  a  constant 
phenomenon,  and  we  may  be  sure  that,  when  an  inno- 
vation has  been  made,  it  has  a  justification  somewhere 


258  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

in  the  nature  of  things ;  it  is  either  the  development  of 
some  historic  factor  that  had  fallen  out  of  sight,  or  it 
responds  to  some  new  need.  In  whatever  case,  the  new 
idea  has  a  right  to  our  respect,  and  the  right  of  explaining 
the  cause  and  the  purpose  of  its  appearance.  The  great- 
er part  of  the  world's  progress  is  instinctive.  The  for- 
ward step  is  made  by  an  unconscious  effort,  but  we  at 
once  pause  in  a  reflective  mood,  adjust  ourselves  to  the 
new  state  of  things,  and  thus  involuntarily  prepare  for 
another  forward  step. 

I  do  not  appear  as  an  apologist  for  the  university  study 
of  education.  I  regard  the  new  movement  as  an  invol- 
untary product  of  the  times ;  as  something  without  which 
a  rational  progress  in  education  cannot  profitably  be 
made,  and  also  as  a  fulfilment  of  a  primitive  purpose  of 
university  organization.  There  is  no  teacher  in  the  land 
who  has  not  a  personal  interest  in  the  educational  move- 
ment that  I  purpose  to  discuss.  !Nay,  if  it  affects  one 
class  of  teachers  more  sensibly  than  another,  it  appears 
to  me  to  be  the  class  doing  the  heroic,  and  often  unre- 
quited, work  of  the  primary  school.  For  university  rec- 
ognition of  a  teaching  profession  is  a  certificate  of  charac- 
ter from  the  highest  academic  authority,  and  this  honor- 
able recognition  is  the  greatest  boon  to  those  who  need 
it  most. 

When,  in  1876,  a  chair  of  education  was  established 
in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  there  was  not  a  teacher 
in  the  United  Kingdom  who  might  not  have  felt  a  new 
pride  in  his  calling;  and  I  know  that  more  than  one 
teacher,  even  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  worked  under  a 
new  inspiration  from  that  day  forward.  By  the  simple 
fact  of  such  recognition  the  entire  teaching  profession 
has  been  ennobled ;  and,  now  that  there  is  a  tendency  in 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  259 

the  universities  of  this  country  to  follow  a  precedent  of 
long  standing  in  Germany,  and  of  more  recent  date  in 
Scotland,  it  is  surely  worth  our  while  to  reflect  on  a  top- 
ic of  common  interest. 

More  than  one  college  graduate  has  been  puzzled  to 
understand  why  the  day  that  crowns  his  four  years'  toil 
is  called  commencement  day.  To  him  it  seems  more 
like  an  ending  than  a  beginning,  and,  in  our  present 
mode  of  academic  life,  so  it  is.  But  it  was  not  always 
so.  Commencement  day  is  simply  the  survival  of  a  feat- 
ure of  ancient  university  life  that  has  been  in  disuse  for 
centuries.  Anciently  the  terms  "  master,"  "  doctor,"  and 
"professor"  had  the  same  significance.  A  complete 
graduate  was  a  master  of  arts,  because  he  had  complete- 
ly compassed  the  circle  of  knowledge  offered  for  his 
study ;  he  was  a  doctor,  because  his  master's  degree  waa 
his  license  to  teach ;  and  he  was  a  professor  because,  in 
his  teaching,  he  professed  a  given  subject ;  that  is,  de- 
voted himself  to  the  teaching  of  a  special  topic,  as  phi- 
losophy or  logic.  When,  therefore,  a  student  received 
his  master's  or  his  doctor's  degree,  he  was  said  to  begin, 
incipere;  that  is,  to  commence  in  earnest  his  vocation  or 
calling — that  of  teaching. 

The  bachelor,  or  imperfect  graduate,  could  also  use  his 
degree  as  a  license  to  teach,  but  only  on  probation. 

"In  the  original  constitution  of  Oxford,"  says  Sir 
William  Hamilton,  "  as  in  that  of  all  the  older  universi- 
ties of  the  Parisian  model,  the  business  of  instruction  was 
not  confined  to  a  special  body  of  privileged  professors. 
The  university  was  governed,  the  university  was  taught, 
by  the  graduates  at  large.  Professor,  master,  and  doc- 
tor were  originally  synonymous.  Every  graduate  had  an 
equal  right  of  teaching  publicly  the  subjects  competent 


260  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

to  his  faculty ;  ray,  every  graduate  incurred  the  obliga- 
tion of  teaching  publicly,  for  a  certain  period,  the  sub- 
jects of  his  faculty,  for  such  was  the  condition  involved 
in  the  grant  of  the  degree  itself.  The  bachelor,  or  im- 
perfect graduate — partly  as  an  exercise  towards  the  high- 
er honor,  and  useful  to  himself;  partly  as  a  performance 
due  for  the  degree  obtained,  and  of  advantage  to  others 
— was  bound  to  read,  under  a  master  or  doctor  in  his  fac- 
ulty, a  course  of  lectures ;  and  the  master,  doctor,  or  per- 
fect graduate  was,  in  like  manner,  after  his  promotion, 
obliged  immediately  to  commence  {incipere),  &nd  to  con- 
tinue for  a  certain  period  publicly  to  teach  {legere)  some, 
at  least,  of  the  subjects  appertaining  to  his  faculty."* 

I  call  attention  to  this  historical  fact  to  show  that  the 
ancient  universities  were,  by  their  very  intent  and  con- 
stitution, teachers'  seminaries. 

The  thousands  of  pupils  who  flocked  to  Oxford  and 
Paris  there  received  the  highest  literary  culture  that  the 
age  afforded;  and,  on  the  completion  of  their  studies, 
they  were  returned  to  the  world  as  its  accredited  teach- 
ers. When,  therefore,  it  is  proposed  to  shelter  the  pro- 
fession of  teaching  under  university  walls,  it  is,  in  fact, 
but  restoring  to  universities  their  ancient  privilege,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  requiring  of  them  the  highest  duty 
they  owe  to  the  world,  that  of  the  diffusion  of  the  best 
results  of  human  thinking.  The  universities  have  long 
since  ceased  to  impose  on  their  graduates  the  obligation 
to  teach.  It  must  have  happened  from  an  early  date 
that  all  the  doctors  or  licensed  teachers  could  not  be  em- 
ployed in  scholastic  work ;  so  that,  in  process  of  time, 
the  obligation  ceased,  and  the  graduate  was  at  liberty  to 
adopt  whatever  vocation  he  might  prefer.  But,  while 
•  "  Discussions,"  pp.  387,  388. 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  261 

all  who  were  graduated  did  not  teach,  all  who  taught 
were  graduates.  This  was  literally  true  during  the  earlier 
part  of  university  history,  and  has  remained  substantially 
true  down  to  the  present  day.  For,  as  Mr.  Fitch  says, 
"  The  great  function  of  a  university  is  to  teach,  and  to 
supply  the  world  with  its  teachers."  *  The  universities 
of  this  country  are  illustrations  of  this  statement.  The 
men  who  are  really  moulding  the  education  of  the  time 
through  the  secondary  schools  are,  doubtless,  as  a  rule, 
the  bachelors,  masters,  and  doctors  who  have  been  grad- 
uated from  these  institutions. 

The  relation  of  a  state  university  to  the  general  edu- 
cational system  of  the  state  has  never  been  more  accu- 
rately defined  than  by  Chancellor  Tappan,f  and  I  cannot 
forbear  to  quote  from  one  of  his  annual  reports :  "  The 
liighest  institutions  are  necessary  to  supply  the  proper 
standard  of  education,  to  raise  up  instructors  of  the  prop- 
er qualifications,  to  define  the  principles  and  methods  of 
education,  to  furnish  cultivated  men  to  the  professions, 
to  civil  life,  and  to  the  private  walks  of  society,  and  to 
diffuse  everywhere  the  educational  spirit.  The  common 
school  can  be  perfected  only  through  competent  teach- 
ers. These  can  be  provided  only  by  institutions  like  the 
normal  school,  which  belongs  to  the  intermediate  grade 
of  education.  But  the  teachers  of  the  normal  schools, 
again,  require  other  and  higher  institutions  to  prepare 
them ;  such,  at  least,  as  the  academy,  gymnasium,  or  col- 
lege ;  and  these,  the  highest  forms  of  the  intermediate 
grade,  commonly  look  to  the  university  for  a  supply  of 
instructors. 

"He  who  has  passed  through  the  common  school  is 

*  "  Lectures,"  p.  4. 

t  President  of  the  University  of  Michigan  from  1852  to  1862. 


263  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

not  fitted  to  teach  a  common  school.  He  who  has  passed 
through  a  normal  school  is  not  prepared  to  teach  a  nor- 
mal school.  He  who  has  passed  through  a  union  school 
or  an  academy  is  not  prepared  to  teach  it.  The  gradu- 
ate of  a  college  is  not  prepared  to  become  a  college  pro- 
fessor. 

"But  the  direct  object  of  a  university  is  to  prepare 
men  to  teach  in  the  university  itself,  or  in  any  other  in- 
stitution. Hence,  those  who,  in  the  universities,  become 
doctors,  which  simply  means  teachers,  are,  by  that  very 
degree,  admitted  to  the  vocation  of  a  university  in- 
structor." * 

If  we  were  to  make  a  summary  and  concrete  state- 
ment of  Dr.  Tappan's  thought,  it  would  be  as  follows : 
The  great  function  of  the  universities  of  the  United  States 
is,  directly  and  indirectly,  to  supply  the  country  with  its 
teacliers.  Let  it  be  noted  that  this  is  both  the  historic 
function  of  the  university  and  the  function  required  of 
it  by  the  conditions  of  our  present  civilization. 

It  may  now  be  asked  whether  our  universities  are  not 
fulfilling  this  duty,  even  without  making  a  formal  study 
of  education. 

Was  not  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  for  example,  in 
the  full  performance  of  its  duty  prior  to  the  establish- 
ment of  the  chair  of  education,  in  1876?  This  is  a  per- 
tinent question,  and  admits  of  a  satisfactory  answer. 
Tempora  mutantur,  et  nos  cum  illismutamur.  Changed 
times  require  a  change  in  institutions.  The  ancient  uni- 
versity represented  the  primitive  phase  of  opinion,  that 
teaching  ability  was  identical  with  scholarship ;  and  so 
its  masters  and  doctors  were  licensed  teachers.  Since 
that  ancient  date,  however,  the  conception  of  a  complete 
*  "  Annual  Report,"  1856,  pp.  9,  10. 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  263 

fitness  for  teaching  has  been  profoundly  modified ;  so 
that  the  modern  university  no  longer  fulfils  its  duty  to 
the  teaching  profession  if  it  affords  its  students  only  the 
advantages  that  were  offered  by  the  ancient  university. 
In  other  words,  with  respect  to  one  of  the  most  widely 
practised  of  human  arts,  the  thought  of  the  world  has 
been  radically  changed,  and  the  universities  should  ad- 
just themselves  to  the  new  order  of  things. 

Up  to  the  time  of  Socrates  the  current  of  human 
thought  had  been  directed  outward,  in  efforts  to  com- 
prehend the  external  and  the  sensible.  With  Socrates 
began  the  reflective  movement  in  human  thought.  The 
eye  of  the  soul  was  turned  back  upon  itself  in  the  effort 
to  comprehend  the  immaterial  and  the  invisible.  Hith- 
erto thought  had  been  expended  on  subjects  lying  in  the 
world  without.  Now,  thought  took  cognizance  of  itself ; 
thought  was  employed  in  the  effort  to  comprehend 
thought.  Tliis  arousing  of  the  mind  to  an  examination 
of  its  own  processes  formed  an  era  in  the  intellectual 
liistory  of  the  race.  "  The  genius  that  spoke  in  the  soul 
of  Socrates,"  says  Renouvier,  "  was  the  genius  of  the 
modern  world."  * 

And  so  a  crisis  is  reached  in  the  history  of  an  art  when 
it  becomes  self-conscious  and  reflective.  Hitherto,  its 
processes  had  been  empirical,  now  they  tend  to  become 
rational.  Hitherto,  the  guide  had  been  instinct  and  imi- 
tation, now  reason  and  reflection  are  to  direct.  Before, 
it  was  the  hand  that  toiled ;  now  the  work  of  the  hand 
is  inspired  and  guided  by  the  subtile  force  that  descends 
upon  it  from  the  brain.  The  precious  element  in  labor 
is  the  indwelling  thought  w^hicli  it  involves.  It  is  this 
element  which  ennobles  the  workman  and  his  work. 
*  "  Manuel  de  Philosophic  Ancienne,"  i.,  p.  300. 


204  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

Teaching  seems  to  be  the  last  of  tlie  liberal  arts  to 
reach  the  reflective  or  rational  period.  Wliy  this  is  so, 
it  is  beside  my  present  purpose  to  inquire.  But  that  this 
period  has  at  last  come  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  when 
it  is  proposed  to  make  education  a  university  study,  it  is 
education  as  a  rational,  and  not  as  an  empirical,  art,  that 
is  to  receive  university  recognition. 

I  have  reason  to  think  that  the  first  query  to  arise  in 
the  mind  of  the  college  professor,  when  it  is  proposed  to 
add  the  subject  of  education  to  the  curriculum,  is.  What 
can  be  found  in  such  a  topic  to  engage  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  an  instructor?  Bear  in  mind  that  every  faculty- 
meeting  is  occupied  with  the  discussion  of  difiicult  edu- 
cational problems,  practical,  theoretical,  or  historical. 
The  rustic  in  Moliere's  comedy  discovered  that  he  had 
been  talking  prose  all  his  life,  but  without  knowing  it ; 
and  so  pedagogical  problems  are  discussed  and  settled  by 
boards  of  trustees,  teachers'  associations,  and  institutes, 
by  newspapers,  by  everybody,  in  fact ;  and  still  the  won- 
der is  what  a  professor  of  education  can  find  to  do !  The 
very  naivete  of  this  proceeding  is  charming.  This  is  a 
generic  illustration  of  the  unconscious  in  art,  and  enforces 
what  has  been  said  as  to  the  need  of  bringing  the  proc- 
esses of  the  schoolroom  out  of  the  realm  of  the  uncon- 
scious into  the  field  of  reflective  vision. 

Shall  we  now  dwell  for  a  moment  on  the  field  of  in- 
quiry comprehended  in  the  university  study  of  educa- 
tion ?  The  comprehensive  study  of  education  must  be 
made  from  three  distinct  points  of  view — the  present, 
the  past,  and  the  future.  In  other  words,  education 
must  be  studied  as  an  art,  as  a  history,  and  as  a  philoso- 
phy. The  art  phase  involves  the  study  of  schools, 
school  systems,  modes  of  organization  and  of  instruction 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  265 

— of  everything,  in  fact,  that  pertains  to  the  scliool  econ- 
omy of  the  present,  at  home  and  abroad.  There  is 
enough,  even  in  this  field,  to  occupy  a  portion  of  one's 
leisure. 

The  history  of  education,  Chinese,  Persian,  Egyptian, 
Hindoo,  Jewish,  Greek,  Roman,  Mediaeval,  French, 
German,  English,  Italian,  presents  a  field  of  almost  in- 
finite extent,  too  formidable  to  be  contemplated  with 
equanimity ;  and  yet  there  is  not,  I  venture  to  say,  any 
knowledge  of  a  higher  practical  value  to  the  educators 
of  the  day  than  this.  The  great  need  of  the  hour,  it 
seems  to  me,  is  to  ascertain  what  has  been  done  in  the 
line  of  educational  effort,  what  plans  have  succeeded, 
and  what  have  failed,  and  the  conditions  under  which 
success  or  failure  has  come.  General  history,  that  records 
the  instinctive  or  impulsive  acts  of  men,  has  a  high  order 
of  value ;  but  of  a  still  higher  value  must  be  educational 
history,  that  records  the  deliberate  plans  of  the  wisest 
and  the  best  for  the  good  of  their  kind. 

Vaster  still,  if  possible,  is  the  field  of  investigation  pre- 
sented by  educational  science.  First  note  the  sciences 
that  are  tributary  to  this  composite  science.  The  teacher 
deals  directly  and  principally  with  mind ;  then,  if  his  proc- 
esses are  to  be  made  rational,  their  basis  must  be  sought 
in  psychology.  But  mental  action  involves  physical  con- 
ditions, and  so  physiology  must  be  brought  under  contri- 
bution. The  power  developed  by  mental  training  must 
be  brought  under  the  control  of  motive,  and  so  the 
science  of  ethics  must  be  consulted.  The  organon,  or 
teaching  instrument,  is  language,  employed  as  the  medi- 
um of  communication ;  and  logic  becomes  an  element  in 
the  new  science.  This  is  not  all,  but  is  enough  to  prove 
that  this  one  aspect  of  educational  study,  the  scientific, 

12 


< 


266  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

furnishes  all  tlie  material  required  for  the  most  compe- 
tent and  the  most  diligent  professorship.  The  real  diffi- 
culty in  the  case  is  not  at  all  where  many  have  supposed  it 
to  be — in  not  finding  enough  to  do ;  but  rather  in  being 
so  overwhelmed  with  the  vastness  of  the  field  as  not  to 
know  what  to  do  first.  Should  any  one  suspect  that  these 
lines  are  too  broadly  drawn,  he  may  consult  the  synopsis 
of  lectures  given  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  by  Pro- 
fessor Laurie,  and  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  by 
Professor  Meiklejohn. 

The  purposes  of  a  university  professorship  of  educa- 
tion are  foreshadowed  in  what  has  preceded ;  but  these 
should  now  be  more  articulately  defined : 

1.  The  university  may,  with  great  propriety,  be  called 
the  brain  of  a  complete  system  of  public  instrnction. 
Historically,  the  university  preceded  by  centuries  the 
primary  school.* 

The  very  highest  institutions  of  learning  were  organ- 
ized first,  then  followed,  in  process  of  time,  the  secondary 
schools,  and  finally,  but  only  after  a  very  long  interval, 
the  primary  schools.  In  England,  the  great  universities 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  date  from  the  twelfth  century : 
the  great  public  schools,  like  Harrow,  Winchester,  Eton, 
and  Rugby,  from  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries ; 
while  the  English  public  elementary  school  was  founded 
in  the  lifetime  of  this  generation. 

In  this  country  a  tax  was  levied  for  the  support  of 
Harvard  University  in  1636 ;  but  it  was  not  till  eleven 

*  *'  The  highest  schools  of  learning  were  chronologically  first. 
Schools  for  tlie  people  were  not  the  elements  out  of  which  uni- 
versities took  their  growth ;  on  the  contrary,  schools  for  the  peo- 
ple grew  out  of  the  universities." — Tappan,  "  University  Educa- 
tion," p.  19. 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  267 

years  afterwards,  in  1647,  that  funds  were  appropriated 
for  the  establishment  of  common  schools. 

It  is  a  popular  illusion  to  suppose  that  the  primary 
school  must  support  the  secondary,  and  the  secondary 
call  into  being  the  university.  The  first  in  time,  the  first 
in  rank,  and  the  first  in  necessity, is  the  university.  These 
three  grades  of  schools  may  be  founded  simultaneously, 
as  in  our  Western  States ;  but  the  logical  pre-eminence 
of  the  university  is  still  maintained.  In  other  words,  the 
condition  of  having  good  secondary  schools  is  to  have  a 
good  university ;  and  the  condition  of  having  good  pri- 
mary schools  is  to  have  a  sufficient'  number  of  good  sec- 
ondary schools.  On  this  point  I  quote  again  from  Dr. 
Tappan :  "  We  are  no  more  to  wait  for  universities  to 
grow  up  as  the  last  result  of  a  ripe  civilization,  than  we 
are  to  wait  for  railroads,  steamships,  manufactories,  com- 
merce, and  the  perfect  form  of  all  the  industrial  arts, 
as  such  a  result.  On  the  contrary,  we  are  to  create  all  as 
early  as  possible,  to  hasten  on  civilization."  * 

Now,  the  deduction  I  make  from  the  organic  position 
of  the  university  in  a  public-school  system  is  this :  the 
invigoration  and  perfection  of  the  school  system,  as  a 
whole,  are  dependent  on  the  influences  that  descend  from 
the  head  and  brain  of  the  system.  "  Progress,"  says  a 
French  author,  "  is  propagated  from  above  downwards, 
and  this  even  to  the  furthest  limits ;  for  science  never 
ascends." 

Would  we  have  what  is  best  in  education  incorporated 
into  the  countless  primary  and  secondary  schools,  the 
most  economically  and  the  most  surely  ?  Then  whatever 
is  best  in  educational  history,  theory,  and  practice  must 
be  organized  and  taught  in  the  university. 
*"Keport,"  1856,  p.  13. 


268  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION, 

2.  Still  further,  the  university  is  the  only  source  from 
which  the  State  can  be  supplied  with  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  highly  educated  teachers.  With  respect  to  the 
supply  of  teachers,  a  good  working  rule  is  this :  A  teacher 
for  a  school  of  a  given  grade  should  be  educated  in  a 
school  of  a  higher  grade. 

The  reasons  for  this  rule  are  so  apparent  that  I  need 
not  dwell  on  them  at  any  length.  Of  these  things  there 
can  be  no  doubt:  a  teacher  should  know  considerably 
more  than  he  expects  to  teach ;  the  influence  of  the 
teacher  should  be  an  open  invitation  to  the  pupil  to 
higher  walks  in  the  intellectual  life ;  all  true  education  is 
an  inspiration.  Now,  if  the  rule  I  have  stated  is  a  just 
one,  it  follows  that  the  secondary  or  high  schools  of  a 
state  require  a  considerable  body  of  teachers  who  should 
have  a  university  training.  And  such  teachers  must  be 
far  more  than  mere  scholars.  If  really  fitted  for  their 
places,  they  should  be  masters  of  the  educating  art,  and 
to  this  end  they  should  have  been  instructed  in  the 
theory,  the  history,  and  the  art  of  education.  Such  men 
and  women  occupy  places  of  great  influence  and  respon- 
sibility, and  their  training  should  make  it  easy  for  them 
to  handle  educational  questions  with  philosophic  insight 
and  with  judicial  fairness.  Such  culture  requires  high 
scholarship,  and  the  free  and  serene  air  of  university 
life. 

3.  Again,  public  schools  have  the  right  to  be  sheltered 
from  the  errors  and  vagaries  of  empirics  and  mere  en- 
thusiasts. 

The  double  misfortune  of  the  present  state  of  things 
is,  that  very  many  of  those  who  have  the  direction  of 
educational  affairs  are  without  any  proper  degree  of 
professional  competence,  and  so  are  the  easy  victims  of 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  269 

what  is  novel,  or  of  what  is  pressed  on  their  attention 
by  the  arts  of  declamation. 

Educational  hobbies  are  epidemic,  and  the  evils  that 
come  to  the  schools  from  this  source  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  exaggerate.  My  thought  is  this:  if  we  would 
grow  into  a  mode  of  educational  progress  that  has  an 
historic  continuity,  there  must  be  a  recognized  source  of 
opinion  that  has  been  formed  under  the  best  possible 
conditions.  These  conditions  are  supplied  only  by  the 
highest  institutions  of  learning. 

4,  The  educating  art,  when  rightly  conceived,  has  all 
the  essential  marks  of  a  profession  ;  it  has  in  its  keeping 
human  interests  of  the  highest  order;  it  requires  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  highest  intellectual  gifts ;  all  its  processes 
have  a  basis  in  law,  and  hence  its  modes  of  procedure 
may  be  scientific;  it  requires  knowledge  of  a  special 
kind,  difficult  to  obtain,  and,  therefore,  within  the  reach 
of  a  comparatively  few ;  the  knowledge  of  the  masses  is 
not  sufficient  to  afford  a  due  protection  against  malprac- 
tice, and  so  there  is  a  necessity  for  authoritative  evi- 
dences of  fitness. 

Teaching  is,  therefore,  a  possible,  if  not  an  actual,  pro- 
fession, and  any  measure  that  can  bring  forward  this 
consummation  deserves  the  good -will  of  the  general 
public.  Now,  it  is  an  historical  fact  that  the  main 
strength  of  the  recognized  professions  is  their  organic 
connection  with  great  seats  of  learning.  Law,  medicine, 
and  theology  had  never  been  professions,  except  on  the 
condition  of  university  recognition  and  support ;  nor 
could  their  professional  character  be  sustained,  if  this 
support  were  to  be  withdrawn.  The  inference  to  be 
drawn  is  obvious :  if  teaching  is  ever  to  have  the  rank 
and  the  consideration  of  a  profession,  it  must  in  some 


270  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

way  gain  university  recognition  ;  and  the  easy  and  prop- 
er mode  of  such  recognition  is  to  make  education  a 
university  study,  on  a  par,  at  least,  with  entomology  and 
forestry. 

5.  Another  purpose  to  be  served  by  a  professorship 
of  education  is  the  development  of  educational  science. 
There  is  as  good  a  reason  for  investigating  and  formulat- 
ing the  principles  of  education  as  for  investigating  and 
formulating  the  principles  of  medicine  and  of  law.  In 
either  case,  the  art  grows  in  value  and  in  dignity,  in 
proportion  as  its  co-ordinate  science  is  perfected  ;  and, 
in  each  case,  the  discovery  of  a  new  principle  introduces 
a  wholesome  change  into  current  practice.  At  the  pres- 
ent time,  education  is  chiefly  an  empirical  art ;  most  of 
its  processes  are  derived  from  precedent  and  imitation, 
and  the  greater  part  of  school  work  is  done  in  absolute 
ignorance  of  conditioning  principles,  and  a  considerable 
part  of  it  in  violation  of  such  principles.  We  expect 
even  a  grammar-school  pupil  to  proceed  scientifically  in 
the  solution  of  an  arithmetical  problem  ;  we  expect  him 
to  use  the  clear  light  of  a  principle  as  his  guide  through 
the  mazes  of  his  calculations,  and  we  think  it  to  his  great 
discredit  if  he  is  the  slave  to  a  mere  rule.  What  shall 
be  our  judgment  of  the  mature  men  and  women  who 
do  the  work  of  the  schoolroom  by  mere  rule,  without 
even  suspecting  that  their  rules,  if  good,  have  a  sup- 
port in  some  principle,  psychological,  physiological,  or 
ethical  ? 

But  some  one  will  say,  a  body  of  educational  doctrine 
has  not  yet  been  formulated ;  as  yet  there  is  no  science 
of  education. 

This  is  only  partially  true.  From  what  I  know  of 
the  present  state  of  educational  science,  and  from  what 


EDUCATION  AS  A   UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  271 

physicians  have  told  me  of  the  present  state  of  medical 
science,  I  am  convinced  that  there  is  a  larger  body  of 
valid  scientific  truth  within  the  reach  of  tiie  teacher 
than  within  the  reach  of  the  physician.  That  is,  if 
teachers  would  learn  and  use  the  principles  within  their 
reach,  there  would  be  less  empiricism  in  teaching  than 
in  medicine.  I  think  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the 
fundamental  principles  of  psychology  are  as  well  set- 
tled as  the  fundamental  principles  of  medicine. 

The  strangest  feature  in  the  case,  however,  is  still  to 
be  noted :  although  certain  laws  of  mental  life  have 
been  known  since  the  days  of  Plato,  and  although  suc- 
ceeding centuries  have  confirmed  them  and  added  to 
their  number,  it  is  only  now  that  even  a  beginning  has 
been  made  in  the  deductive. application  of  these  laws 
to  mental  training.  In  our  profession  this  is  the  great 
need  of  the  hour ;  and  the  place  in  particular,  and  even 
the  only  place,  where  this  work  can  be  systematically 
prosecuted,  is  the  university  chair  of  education.  This,  it 
seems  to  me,  should  be  its  characteristic  function. 

6.  With  my  present  opportunities,  I  have  often  asked 
myself  which  would  be  the  greater  privilege,  to  address 
my  instruction  to  professional  teachers,  or  to  the  general 
student.  When  I  reflect  on  the  direct  purpose  of  my 
chair,  I  conclude  that  the  professional  teacher  should  be 
the  elect  object  of  my  efforts ;  but  when  I  reflect  on  the 
following  words  of  Herbert  Spencer,  I  am  in  grave 
doubt.  "No  rational  plea,"  says  Mr.  Spencer,  "can  be 
put  forward  for  leaving  the  art  of  education  out  of  our 
curriculum.  Whether  as  bearing  upon  the  happiness  of 
parents  themselves,  or  whether  as  affecting  the  characters 
and  lives  of  their  children  and  reinote  descendants,  we 
must  admit  that  a  knowledjje  of  the  right  methods  of 


273  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

juvenile  culture,  physical,  intellectual,  and  moral,  is  a 
knowledge  second  to  none  in  importance.  This  topic 
should  occupy  the  highest  and  last  place  in  the  course  of 
instruction  passed  through  by  each  man  and  woman. 

^^  The  subject  which  involves  all  other  subjects,  and 
therefore  the  subject  in  which  education  of  every  one 
should  culminate,  is  the  '  Theory  and  Practice  of  Edu- 
cation.'' "  * 

This  extract  furnishes  the  occasion  for  a  large  amount 
of  serious  thinking;  and  though  there  may  be  hesita- 
tions between  the  two  classes  of  auditors  we  might  pre- 
fer to  address,  one  thing  is  beyond  dispute :  education, 
as  a  branch  of  general  university  studj',  is  of  at  least  co- 
ordinate importance  with  conic  sections,  Sanscrit,  geol- 
ogy, and  many  others  that  might  be  mentioned.  If  we 
were  to  rank  subjects  on  the  basis  of  their  direct  bearing 
on  the  individual  interests  of  men  and  women  in  gen- 
eral, there  can  hardly  be  a  doubt  that  education  would 
fall  but  a  little  below  the  head  of  the  list.  That  uni- 
versity recognition  has  long  been  given,  and  is  generally 
given,  to  subjects  of  far  less  relative  importance,  is  a 
phenomenon  in  scholastic  history.  The  exception  is  the 
more  singular,  from  the  circumstance  that  this  subject  is 
the  basis  of  one  of  the  most  widely  practised  arts;  and 
even  still  more  singular,  from  the  circumstance  that  the 
great  body  of  professional  teachers  have  been  indifferent 
to  the  university  study  of  a  subject  in  which  they  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  feel  a  deep  and  peculiar  inter- 
est. From  the  standpoint  of  the  general  public,  this 
phenomenon  admits  of  an  easy  explanation ;  as  people 
in  general  have  so  little  positive  knowledge  on  this  sub- 
ject of  education,  they  conclude  that  a  professor  of  edu- 
*  "Education,"  pp.  162, 103. 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY   STUDY.  273 

cation  would  be  without  substantial  functions,  without, 
in  fact,  anything  to  profess. 

Whether  this  mode  of  thinking  may  or  may  not  ex- 
tend to  our  profession,  I  will  not  stop  to  inquire.  The 
general  conclusion  to  which  I  am  brought  by  this  train 
of  thought  is,  that  education  has  a  valid  right  to  be  made 
a  university  study,  quite  independently  of  its  profes- 
sional bearing,  but  solely  by  virtue  of  its  high  general 
utility  as  a  branch  of  human  culture. 

I  must  now  return  to  a  theme  that  was  suggested  in 
the  earlier  part  of  this  discussion,  the  bearing  of  the  uni- 
versity study  of  education  upon  the  status  of  normal 
schools.  No  belief  is  more  firmly  impressed  on  my 
mind  than  that  normal  schools  had  their  origin  in  the 
necessities  of  our  civilization,  and  that  they  will  always 
remain  permanent  factors  in  our  educational  history. 
As  already  stated,  they  are  the  exponents  of  a  marked 
advance  in  public  opinion  as  to  fitness  for  teaching. 
They  not  only  supply  a  need  that  will  always  be  felt, 
but  there  will  be  a  steady  rise  in  their  appreciation  as 
the  subject  of  education  becomes  better  understood. 

The  ground  for  this  belief  will  become  evident  from 
a  slight  examination.  In  the  teaching  force  of  the 
country,  the  volunteers  or  irregulars  very  largely  out- 
number the  standing  or  regular  army.  For  ten  who 
teach  from  year  to  year  as  a  regular  vocation,  there  are  a 
hundred  who  intend  to  teach,  and  who  actually  do  teach, 
only  two  or  three  years  on  the  average.  So  far  as  can 
be  seen,  this  state  of  things  will  continue  indefinitely. 

Now,  some  kind  of  professional  preparation  should  be 
required  of  this  large  class  of  teachers.  What  shall  it 
be  ?  Shall  they  be  expected  to  pursue  a  liberal  course 
of  study  in  college  or  university,  and  to  become  versed 

12" 


274  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ill  educational  history  and  science?  It  is  folly  to  dream 
of  such  a  consummation.  The  most  that  can  be  ex- 
pected, with  any  show  of  reason,  is  that  this  preponder- 
ant body  of  teachers  receive  a  good  secondary  education, 
and,  in  close  connection  witli  it,  instruction  in  the  most 
approved  methods  of  doing  school  work.  Tliis,  I  repeat, 
is  the  utmost  that  can  be  expected  of  the  transient  mem- 
bers of  the  teaching  profession.  Here  lies,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  the  function  of  the  normal  school.  As  yet,  only 
a  small  part  of  the  teaching  class  has  been  affected  by 
the  normal  school ;  but,  with  the  growth  of  juster  ideas 
as  to  fitness  for  good  teaching,  tliere  will  surely  come 
a  growing  demand  for  normal  instruction  ;  so  that  an 
adequate  appreciation  of  the  normal  school  is  yet  to 
come. 

What  can  give  extension  and  intensity  to  the  convic- 
tion that  all  who  purpose  to  teach  should  have  some  for- 
mal preparation  for  their  duties? 

I  can  see  no  other  means  so  effective  as  the  declaration 
by  the  highest  academic  authority,  that  something  be- 
sides general  knowledge  is  essential  for  fitness  for  teach- 
ing. Note  the  implication  :  if  the  highest  attainable 
scholarship  is  not  of  itself  sufficient  to  constitute  fitness 
for  teaching,  then  surely  the  lower  scholarship  must  bo 
supplemented  by  some  special  form  of  professional  train- 
ing. It  seems  to  me  to  follow  inevitably,  that  the  most 
direct  and  most  effective  means  of  emphasizing  the  value 
of  normal  schools,  and  of  extending  their  field  of  useful- 
ness, is  the  university  recognition  of  the  teaching  pro- 
fession. 

In  what  way  could  a  university  course  of  instruction 
in  teaching  affect  a  normal  school  injuriously  ?  In  the 
first  place,  there  is  no  ground  for  competition.     How 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  275 

can  a  university  compete  with  a  secondary  school?  It 
is  only  after  a  pupil  has  completed  the  academic  course 
in  a  normal  school  that  he  is  prepared  for  admission  to 
a  university.  As  there  can  be  no  competition  there  is 
no  ground  for  jealousy  or  ill-will,  provided  there  is  a 
recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  public-school  service  of 
the  state  requires  of  some  of  its  teachers  a  higher  grade 
of  scholarship  than  a  normal  school  can  afford.  To  em- 
ploy Dr.  Tappan's  phraseology,  "  The  graduate  of  a  sec- 
ondary school  is  not  prepared  to  instruct  a  secondary 
school."  In  other  words,  the  high  schools  of  a  state  re- 
quire the  services  of  men  and  women  who  liave  had  a 
college  or  a  university  training.  And  if  certain  schools 
require  a  higher  academic  training  than  a  normal  school 
can  give,  so  they  require  a  higher  grade  of  professional 
education— instruction  in  doctrines  and  principles,  rather 
than  in  methods. 

Below  the  third  year  of  the  high-school  course,  normal- 
school  training  may  suffice;  but  above  the  second  year, 
university  training  is  requisite. 

When  normal  schools  are  charged  with  the  whole 
burden  of  professional  preparation,  they  naturally  and 
perhaps  excusably  fall  into  the  error  of  attempting  to 
do  what  they  are  incapable  of  doing,  and  so  of  ne- 
glecting to  do,  in  pari,  what  it  is  their  natural  function 
to  do — to  supply  the  ungraded  schools,  and  the  first 
ten  grades  of  village  and  city  schools,  with  trained 
teachers. 

The  adjustment  that  is  to  come  simply  exemplifies 
the  law  of  the  division  of  labor,  the  normal  school  doing 
what  its  constitution  permits  it  to  do,  and  declining  to 
do  what  it  is  unable  to  do,  and  the  university  doing  what 
its  higher  organization  icharges  it  with  doing.    When  the 


276  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

professional  education  of  teachers  has  attained  its  proper 
adjustment,  it  will  be  seen  that  teachers  in  normal  schools 
should  have  a  university  training. 

Under  no  other  condition  can  the  work  of  these  schools 
be  done  with  a  breadth  of  view  that  is  essential  for  high 
excellence.  The  almost  inevitable  tendency  of  a  lower 
culture  is,  on  the  one  hand,  to  subdivide  and  minimize 
more  tlian  is  meet,  and,  on  the  other,  to  exalt  trifles  to 
unwarranted  proportions.  It  is  the  remark  of  a  recent 
French  writer  that,  "  after  all,  nothing  so  much  resem- 
bles a  man  as  a  child.  In  truth,  he  is  already  a  man,  if 
not  in  fact,  at  least  in  possibility,  and  it  is  important  at 
an  early  hour  to  call  into  exercise,  by  degrees,  it  is  true, 
his  innate  powers  of  abstraction  and  generalization.  In 
these  days  we  are  too  much  inclined,  perhaps,  to  forget 
this  point."  *  This,  it  seems  to  me,  is  a  wholesome  truth 
often  forgotten  by  those  who  train  teachers.  The  child 
should  not  be  educated  in  sections,  but  the  whole  com- 
plex organization  should  share  in  a  general  forward  move- 
ment. Sense  training,  for  example,  is  not  the  exclusive 
prerogative  of  the  child,  but  should  be  employed  in  due 
measure  in  all  grades  of  instruction ;  and  so  reflection 
is  not  the  exclusive  prerogative  of  the  adult,  but  even 
the  child  participates  in  its  due  exercise.  I  believe  that 
the  source  of  these  errors  is  a  limited  intellectual  culture, 
that  misinterprets  a  part  because  it  has  never  compre- 
hended the  whole.  This  minimizing  tendency  has  cer- 
tainly brought  reproach  upon  systematic  teaching ;  and 
the  only  remedy  that  I  can  see  is  a  liberal  training,  both 
general  and  professional,  for  those  who  are  moulding  the 
lower  education  of  the  times. 

In  order  that  the  professional  study  of  education  in 
*  "  Dictionnaire  de  P6dagogie,"  I*"  Partie,  p.  1425. 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  277 

universities  may  be  placed  upon  a  proper  footing,  three 
conditions  scetn  to  me  to  be  absolutely  required. 

1.  The  professorship  of  education  should  be  co-ordinate 
in  rank  with  other  professorships.  No  other  professor- 
ship has  a  more  extensive  field,  or  a  field  more  peculiar- 
ly its  own. 

An  inferior  rank  would  carry  with  it  an  implied  infe- 
riority of  worth  that  would  compromise  success  from  the 
very  beginning.  The  work  of  such  a  professorship  is 
too  great,  especially  at  this  formative  stage,  to  permit 
the  doing  of  any  other  professional  work  in  conjunction 
with  it.  A  divided  allegiance  would  seem  to  me  very 
unwise. 

2.  These  courses  in  education  should  count  towards  a 
degree,  just  as  other  courses  do.  This  is  too  obvious  to 
deserve  further  remark. 

3.  A  university  degree,  earned  in  part  by  work  done 
under  this  professorship,  should  be  a  life  license  to  teach. 
That  a  degree  representing  such  an  amount  of  academic 
work  in  addition  to  the  courses  of  professional  instruc- 
tion, should  be  of  at  least  co-ordinate  value  with  a  nor- 
mal-school diploma,  seems  to  me  too  evident  to  per- 
mit discussion.  To  this  extent,  certainly,  young  men 
and  women  should  be  encouraged  to  attain  the  highest 
grade  of  preparation  for  the  public-school  service  of  the 
state.* 

With  respect  to  practice  in  connection  with  instruc- 
tion in  the  principles  of  teaching,  the  current  opinion  is 
80  unanimous  and  so  decided  as  against  my  own  think- 
ing, that  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  I  am  wrong.  How- 
ever, I  suppose  I  am  not  thereby  debarred  from  express- 
ing an  opinion. 

*  This  topic  is  discussed  further  in  the  Appendix. 


278  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

The  fundamental  idea  of  professional  instrnction  is, 
that  the  inexperienced  are  to  be  taught  to  do  by  know- 
ing. In  medicine,  it  is  only  the  quack  who  professes  the 
dogma  that  he  should  learn  to  do  by  doing. 

The  true  doctrine  I  suppose  to  be  this :  First  know, 
and  then,  on  the  occasion  of  experience,  perfect  your 
knowledge  by  doing. 

There  is  now  a  wide-spread  denial  of  the  vitality  of 
knowledge,  if  I  may  use  this  expression  ;  that  is,  the  in- 
herent tendency  of  belief  to  mould  the  conduct,  to  em- 
body itself  in  act,  or  to  evolve  a  method  out  of  a  theory, 
is  generally  denied.  How  baseless  this  assumption  is, 
we  may  see  from  the  natural  history  of  prejudices,  and 
still  more  clearly,  perhaps,  from  the  weekly  item  relating 
how  the  dime  novel  displays  its  efEect  in  marauding  ex- 
peditions and  midnight  burnings. 

The  outcome  of  beneficent  thoughts  and  purposes, 
though  not  so  obtrusive,  is  yet  as  constant  a  phe- 
nomenon. 

Now  I  would  base  the  higher  professional  education 
of  teachers  on  the  assumption  that  a  clear  conception  of 
what  is  to  be  done  constitutes  the  best  attainable  prepa- 
ration for  actual  work.  I  am  here  speaking,  let  it  be  re- 
membered, of  practice  schools  for  university  students. 
Schools  of  observation  have  an  admitted  value.  They 
serve  the  same  purpose  as  clinics  in  medical  education. 
But  in  each  case  the  aid  comes  from  seeing  good  models, 
not  from  doing.  The  instruction  is  still  theoretical.  My 
objection  to  practice  teaching  in  such  a  case  as  the  one 
now  under  consideration  is,  that  it  is  unnecessary,  and 
that  it  is  so  unlike  one's  real  work  as  to  be  misleading. 

Let  it  be  observed,  again,  that  I  am  not  discussing  the 
experimental  teaching  done  in  normal  schools.     Here 


EDUCATION  AS  A  UNIVERSITY  STUDY.  279 

the  conditions  are  changed  in  some  important  respects 
that  cannot  now  be  noted ;  but  even  here,  I  think  it  may 
at  least  be  questioned  whether  the  vahie  of  this  empirical 
instruction  has  not  been  overestimated. 

A  university  student  going  to  his  work  with  clear  con- 
ceptions of  what  he  is  to  do,  and  a  normal-school  student 
going  to  his  with  methods  ready  to  his  hand,  will  be 
found  to  have  different  histories,  as  a  general  rule. 

The  first  will  be  likely  to  stumble,  will  start  rather 
clumsily,  but  will  soon  recover  and  improve  to  the  end 
of  the  race ;  while  the  second  will  start  promptly  and  in 
good  order,  but  will  then  bo  slower  in  his  progress,  and 
will  finally  be  out-distanced  by  the  teacher  having  the 
greater  reserved  power. 

And  now,  a  very  brief  historical  notice  of  the  move- 
ment I  have  discussed  will  conclude  this  discussion. 

In  English-speaking  countries,  distinct  chairs  of  edu- 
cation in  universities  have  been  established  as  follows: 
In  Edinburgh  and  in  St.  Andrews,  Scotland ;  in  Acadia 
College,  Nova  Scotia;  in  the  Universities  of  Missouri, 
Michigan,  and  Wisconsin,  and  in  Cornell  University.  In 
the  Universities  of  Cambridge  and  of  London  there  are 
courses  of  lectures  on  education,  but  no  professorship  of 
education  ;  in  the  University  of  Iowa  the  professor  of  men- 
tal and  moral  philosophy  lectures  also  upon  education ; 
and  in  various  colleges  there  are  normal  departments. 

This  new  movement  is  one  that  is  destined  to  form  a 
turning-point  in  the  history  of  the  educating  art ;  and  in 
this  movement  there  is  a  complete  solidarity  of  interest. 
The  question  chiefly  at  stake  is  the  ennobling  of  the 
teaching  profession ;  and  in  this  question  every  teacher 
of  every  grade  has  a  living  personal  interest,  Nay,  more ; 
the  interests  of  every  citizen,  irrespective  of  rank  or  call- 


280  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ing,  are  involved  in  this  forward  movement,  for,  as  Hor- 
ace Mann  has  said, "  No  subject  is  so  comprehensive  as 
that  of  education.  Its  circumference  reaches  around  and 
outside  of,  and,  therefore,  embraces  all  other  interests, 
human  and  divine." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM. 

The  special  question  that  I  propose  to  discuss  is  this : 
"Has  the  time  come  for  a  radical  change  in  normal- 
school  courses  of  study?"  Any  adequate  treatment  of 
this  theme  makes  necessary  a  discussion  of  the  larger  ques- 
tion which  I  have  ventured  to  call  "  the  normal-school 
problem."  At  the  very  outset,  it  will  doubtless  be 
granted  that  the  organization  and  management  of  this 
class  of  schools  is  still  a  problem.  If  any  one  has  reached 
absolute  assurance  in  this  matter,  it  must  be  because  his 
information,  or  his  range  of  thought,  is  very  limited. 
We  will  recollect  that  this  question  is  relatively  a  new 
one.  The  methodical  discussion  of  the  general  educa- 
tional problem  was  begun  in  earnest  twenty-three  cen- 
turies ago;  while  the  germ  of  the  normal  school  was 
dropped  in  the  soil  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Even 
now  we  have  scarcely  a  firm  grasp  of  the  main  elements 
of  the  general  problem  of  education.  It  is,  therefore,  lit- 
tle less  than  presumption  to  think  that  this  new  problem 
has  reached  anything  more  than  a  provisional  solution. 

We  are  now  passing  through  the  period  of  discussion, 
and  hence  of  disagreement.  There  is  no  longer  that 
unanimity  which  comes  from  ignorance  and  indifference; 
but  beyond  this  period  of  dissent  there  will,  doubtless, 
come  the  era  of  substantial  agreement,  when  the  char- 
acteristic phenomenon  will  be  growth  under  pacific  con- 
ditions. 


282  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

To  use  Mr.  Spencer's  phrase,  one  of  our  higliest  duties 
is  "  to  take  stock  of  our  progress,"  to  review  our  mode 
of  doing  business  up  to  date,  to  estimate  the  net  results 
of  all  our  efforts,  and,  in  view  of  what  has  been  and  of 
what  ought  to  be,  to  make  those  readjustments  which  the 
situation  demands.  Wise  revision  requires  both  retro- 
spection and  prevision.  That  our  progress  may  be  safe, 
the  knowledge  of  what  should  he  is  quite  as  essential  as 
the  knowledge  of  what  has  heen ;  and  that  we  may  ad- 
vance with  reasonable  rapidity,  this  reflective  taking  of 
stock  should  be  made  at  not  infrequent  intervals. 

In  all  humanitarian  enterprises,  these  deliberate  re- 
visions are  the  more  necessary  from  this  circumstance, 
that  while,  for  the  most  part,  they  owe  their  origin  to  a 
powerful  sentiment,  this  motive  will  in  time  spend  itself, 
and  must  then  be  replaced  by  an  impulsive  force  of  the 
logical  type.  Feeling  will  cause  a  great  movement,  but, 
in  the  end,  it  must  be  defended  and  sustained  by  reason. 
One  of  the  most  inspiring  pages  in  American  educational 
history  is  that  on  which  is  told  the  story  of  the  planting 
of  the  first  normal  school  in  this  country  at  Lexington, 
Mass.  If  I  interpret  this  history  aright,  the  movement 
which  culminated  in  the  establishment  of  this  first 
American  normal  school  was  due  to  the  ardent  zeal  of 
a  few  enthusiastic  friends  of  popular  education,  rather 
than  to  the  logical  deductions  of  the  thinker.  The  san- 
guine expectations  of  these  noble  spirits  are  most  pathetic. 
They  seem  to  say,  "  The  fate  of  the  commonwealth  de- 
pends on  the  right  education  of  the  youth ;  the  quality 
of  the  schools  depends  on  the  learning,  virtue,  and  skill 
of  the  teachers ;  but  good  teachers  cannot  be  improvised, 
they  must  be  men  and  women  who  have  set  themselves 
apart  for  this  high  service,  and  who  have  been  especially 


THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  288 

trained  for  its  difficult  duties."  Tlie  all-important  thing, 
therefore,  is  the  teachers'  seminary.  Give  us  this,  and 
our  best  wishes  for  the  commonwealth  will  be  fulfilled. 
This,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  this  movement  as  it  comes 
to  us  from  the  pages  of  a  half-century  ago,  and  it  is  typi- 
cal of  all  similar  movements.  Western  towns  sometimes 
spring  up,  as  it  were,  in  a  single  night ;  and  without  es- 
tablished industries,  or  even  a  fixed  population,  a  heavy 
tax  is  levied  for  the  building  and  equipment  of  a  high- 
school.  The  enterprise  owes  its  origin  and  completion 
to  popular  zeal,  and  often  to  a  zeal  not  at  all  according 
to  knowledge.  Before  the  mortar  has  been  well  hardened, 
the  tax-gatherer  destroys  the  illusion,  and  then  the  enter- 
prise that  was  born  of  sentiment  is  saved,  if  indeed  it  be 
saved,  by  argument. 

I  imagine  that  if  the  venerated  men  whose  hearts  were 
gladdened  by  the  final  triumph  of  their  hopes,  could  speak 
to  us,  they  would  confess  their  disappointment  at  what 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  normal  schools  during 
the  half-century  of  their  existence.  The  improvement 
in  the  status  of  the  teaching  profession  has  not  been 
as  marked  as  they  anticipated.  Instruction  has  not 
improved  in  quality  to  the  degree  they  dreamed;  and 
perhaps  more  than  in  all  else,  they  would  feel  a  disap- 
pointment in  the  popular  appreciation  of  teachers'  semi- 
naries. And  if  their  voices  could  reach  our  ears,  I  doubt 
not  they  would  counsel  us  to  revise  our  ways,  to  the  end 
that  the  normal  school  may  be  the  better  equipped  for 
its  mission. 

However  good  and  earnest  our  intentions  may  be,  it  is 
doubtless  impossible  for  us  to  rid  ourselves  of  the  dis- 
turbing influence  of  personal  bias.  Looking  at  the  same 
object  from  different  points  of  view,  our  impressions  and 


284  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

our  conclusions  can  hardly  fail  to  be  different.  So  far 
as  the  formation  of  an  accurate  judgment  is  concerned, 
nearness  to  an  object  and  remoteness  from  it  are  equal 
misfortunes.  In  botli  cases  we  are  the  victims  of  false 
perspective.     We  see  either  too  much  or  too  little. 

An  architect  that  should  direct  the  building  of  a  pile 
wholly  from  within  would  incur  the  gravest  risks  of 
miscalculation ;  his  safety  would  lie  in  receiving  the  im- 
pressions of  another  who  had  studied  the  general  effect 
from  a  normal  distance.  "  He  who  builds  a  house,"  says 
Aristotle,  "  is  not  the  only  judge  of  it."  Ownership  not 
only  reconciles  us  to  what  we  may  chance  to  have,  but 
may  even  conceal  from  us  the  defects  that  are  as  open  as 
the  day  to  others.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  easy  to  dis- 
parage what  is  not  our  own,  especially  when  there  is  the 
least  motive  for  such  disparagement.  The  conclusion  of 
the  whole  matter  is,  that  we  shall  gain  rather  than  lose 
by  the  comparison  of  presentations  that  have  been 
gained  from  different  points  of  view.  Provided  our 
studies  have  been  patient  and  thorough,  and  we  are  obe- 
dient to  the  laws  of  candor  and  courtesy,  such  compari- 
sons of  views  cannot  fail  to  be  fruitful. 

I  feel  bound  by  a  sense  of  fairness  to  state  that  in  the 
actual  administration  of  normal  schools  proper,  I  have 
had  no  experience.  As  to  the  limitations  that  are  due  to 
material,  time,  and  the  needs  of  the  schools,  I  can  judge 
only  by  reflection  on  the  facts  coming  to  me  at  second 
band ;  and  much  as  I  may  wish  to  put  myself  in  a  nearer 
position,  I  can  do  it  only  through  imagination,  and  thus, 
of  course,  imperfectly.  Besides,  partly  from  the  necessi- 
ties of  my  position,  and,  perhaps,  even  more  from  pre- 
dilection, I  feel  most  interest  in  the  theoretical  aspect 
of  normal  instruction ;  while  those  who  are  in  actual 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  385 

charge  of  normal  schools  feel  impelled  to  study  this 
problem  mainly  from  its  practical  side.  But  if  we  grant 
that  this  theme  has  these  two  aspects,  the  theoretical  and 
the  practical,  that  there  must  be  a  theory  of  teaching  be- 
cause there  is  an  art  of  teaching,  it  is  clear  that  we  shall 
gain  by  looking  at  the  normal  school  from  these  two  dis- 
tinct points  of  view. 

"  Studies,"  says  Bacon,  "  are  perfected  by  experience." 
Men  of  action,  held  responsible  for  results,  are  adequate- 
ly protected  against  the  dangers  of  theorizing.  Many 
minds  are  suspicious  of  ideals.  I  cannot  think  that  we 
have  anything  to  fear  from  the  steady  contemplation  of 
the  normal  school  as  it  ought  to  be.  I  know  that  the 
ideal  school,  even  if  we  could  have  it,  would  be  impracti- 
cable. Working  schemes  must  be  adapted  to  the  imperfec- 
tions of  those  who  manage  them,  and  of  the  material  on 
which  they  operate ;  but  we  are  all  weighted  in  the  race 
we  run  ;  our  clumsy  fingers  can  never  execute  the  divine 
pattern  seen  in  our  mind's  eye ;  the  utmost  we  can  do 
is  to  approach  our  ideals;  we  shall  never  reach  them. 
Whether  in  morals,  in  art,  or  in  action,  aspiration  after 
the  ideal  is  the  very  condition  of  progress. 

As  a  step  somewhat  nearer  my  final  purpose,  let  me 
state  some  propositions  on  which  there  is  probably  no 
difference  of  opinion. 

1.  The  normal  school  is  not  only  an  essential  instru- 
ment of  educational  progress,  but  is  itself  a  product  of 
that  resistless  on-going  which  we  term  civilization.  Il- 
luminating gas,  coal  oil,  the  electric  light,  the  printing 
press,  the  telegraph,  are  not  so  much  inventions  and  dis- 
coveries as  growths ;  each  of  them  echoes,  as  it  were,  the 
voice  of  fate;  their  not  coming  is  inconceivable.  And 
Bo  the  normal  school  was  one  of  the  products  of  the 


286  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

times ;  its  coining  could  not  have  been  considerably 
hastened,  nor  could  it  have  been  prevented ;  it  came  in 
response  to  certain  needs,  and  it  has  come  to  stay.  Its 
mission  is  as  definite  as  that  of  the  common  school,  the 
college,  or  the  university.  As  it  was  the  product  of  a 
growth,  it  "will  itself  exhibit  all  the  essential  phenomena 
of  growth.  The  functions  it  first  performed  were  re- 
sponses to  the  scholastic  needs  that  were  then  most  press- 
ing; but  as  there  is  continuous  growth  in  the  conception 
of  education,  the  needs  of  the  schools  will  suffer  pro- 
gressive changes,  and  so  the  functions  of  the  teachers' 
seminary  must  necessarily  pass  through  a  series  of  up- 
ward transformations.  I  think  we  must  go  further  than 
this,  and  say  that  the  normal  school  should  not  merely 
keep  an  even  pace  with  the  educational  thought  of  the 
times,  but  should  be  itself  a  leader  in  educational  thought. 
It  should  "  allure  to  brighter  worlds  and  lead  the  way." 
In  its  doctrines  and  methods  it  should  anticipate  the  needs 
of  the  times,  and  should  give  conscious  and  even  authori- 
tative direction  to  both  educational  theory  and  practice. 
Those  who  are  charged  with  the  administration  of  normal 
instruction  should  occupy  the  very  outposts  and  watch- 
towers  of  educational  progress.  For  these  high  func- 
tions there  is  necessary  not  only  a  knowledge  of  all  past 
achievements  in  the  line  of  educational  thought  and  ac- 
tion, but  a  rational  cult  of  ideals  that  will  permit  some 
degree  of  prophecy.  The  fact  is,  the  era  of  normal  in- 
struction has  only  just  begun.  It  remains  for  our  suc- 
cessors, near  and  remote,  to  possess  and  cultivate  a  land 
in  which  we  are  pioneers  and  pilgrims. 

2.  From  an  early  date  it  must  have  been  observed  that 
there  were  teachers  and  teachers ;  and  as  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  lettered  and  the  unlettered  became  less  and 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  387 

less  obvious,  the  contrast  between  good  teaching  and  poor 
teaching  became  more  and  more  obvious ;  and  as  this  ob- 
served difference  could  not  be  ascribed  to  mere  differences 
in  scholarship,  it  was  attributed  to  good  and  bad  methods. 
Under  this  higher  conception,  the  two  main  features  in 
a  teacher's  preparation  were  matter  and  method,  and  no 
doubt  greater  emphasis  was  given  to  method,  from  the 
circumstance  that  elementary  instruction  had  now  be- 
come of  pre-eminent  importance.  Mature  minds  can  be 
left  largely  to  self-direction  ;  but  the  young  are  depend- 
ent on  the  art  and  skill  of  those  who  instruct  them.  The 
preoccupation  of  the  ancient  teacher  was  the  mature 
mind,  but  of  the  modern  teacher,  the  immature  mind. 
The  exponent  of  the  conception  that  method  is  an  es- 
sential element  in  preparation  for  teaching  is  the  early 
normal  school. 

The  moment  method  becomes  an  object  of  deliberate 
study,  a  comparison  of  methods  becomes  inevitable.  In 
teaching  the  instrumental  art  of  reading,  for  example,  the 
phonic,  the  phonetic,  the  word,  and  the  sentence  methods 
are  brought  into  vigorous  contrast  and  become  rivals. 
Out  of  this  discussion  there  issues  the  necessity  for  a  final 
and  absolute  test  or  criterion ;  and  this  criterion,  of  course, 
turns  out  to  be  a  psychological  law.  The  problem  of 
primary  reading  thus  permits  a  scientific  solution,  and  it 
is  an  easy  step  to  the  inference  that  a  teacher  should  not 
only  be  furnished  with  good  methods,  but  should  also 
know  the  scientific  basis  of  method.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  the  art  of  teaching  is  now  passing  from  the  old  time 
empirical  stage  into  its  future  and  permanent  rational  or 
scientific  stage.  It  cannot  be  said  that  we  are  now  fair- 
ly living  in  this  new  order  of  thought.  The  most  that 
can  be  aflSrmed  is  that  some  ])rinciples  arc  recognized  by 


28a  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

some  teachers,  and  that  there  is  a  growing  disposition  to 
study  fundamental  doctrines.  The  ideal  teacher  is  not 
merely  to  be  wise,  as  the  primitive  conception  of  fitness 
required ;  nor  yet  to  be  furnished  with  matter  and  method, 
as  the  better  current  thought  demands ;  but  is  to  super- 
add to  these  necessary  acquirements  a  knowledge  of  the 
principles,  ph^'siological,  psychological,  ethical,  and  so- 
ciological, that  underlie  the  educating  art.  It  is  refresh- 
ing to  observe  that  the  pioneers  in  the  normal -school 
movement  in  this  country  proclaim  with  one  accord  the 
importance  of  the  study  of  the  theory  and  history  of 
education  ;  but  these  utterances  are  to  be  regarded  as 
prophecies  of  what  should  nltimately  be,  rather  than  as 
prescriptions  for  immediate  adoption.  It  is  certain,  I 
think,  that,  even  in  the  aggregate,  the  normal  schools  of 
the  country  liave  made  only  slender  contributions  to  the 
science  of  teaching.  I  intend  this  remark  to  be  the 
statement  of  an  historical  fact  rather  than  a  criticism. 
My  main  purpose  in  this  paragraph  has  been  to  show 
that  a  new  and  final  stage  has  been  attained  in  the  con- 
ception of  fitness  for  the  teaching  oflSce,  and  to  suggest 
that  the  normal  schools  of  the  country  should  adjust 
themselves  to  this  ascendant  order  of  thought. 

3.  Another  proposition  in-Avhich  we  shall  doubtless  all 
agree,  is  that  one  essential  characteristic  of  a  real  teacher 
is  that  high  quality  of  soul  denominated  culture.  I  im- 
agine that  this  term  escapes  rigorous  definitions,  though 
we  instantly  recognize  the  quality  when  once  in  its  pres- 
ence. I  know  of  nothing  that  comes  nearer  a  definition 
of  culture  than  Plato's  conception  of  the  philosophic 
character.  In  Jowett's  version  it  is  as  follows :  "  A  lover, 
not  of  a  part  of  wisdom,  but  of  the  whole ;  who  has  a 
taste  for  every  sort  of  knowledge,  and  is  curious  to  learn, 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  289 

and  is  never  satisfied ;  who  has  magnificence  of  mind 
and  is  the  spectator  of  all  time  and  all  existence ;  who  is 
harmoniously  constituted;  of  a  well-proportioned  and 
gracious  mind,  whose  own  nature  will  move  spontaneously 
towards  the  true  being  of  everything ;  who  has  a  good 
memory,  and  is  quick  to  learn,  noble,  gracious,  the  friend 
of  truth,  justice,  courage,  temperance."*  Perhaps  wo 
might  summarize  this  statement,  and  say  that  the  essen- 
tial qualities  of  culture  are  as  follows :  comprehensive- 
ness and  elevation  of  mind ;  a  quenchless  zeal  for  knowl- 
edge; grace  and  harmony  in  mental  endowments;  an 
ardent  love  of  whatever  is  true,  beautiful,  and  good ;  an 
educated  will  that  moves  spontaneously  towards  the  right. 
Such  an  ideal  as  Plato  has  here  drawn  is  the  ripened 
fruit  of  a  whole  lifetime  of  training.  During  the  or- 
dinary period  of  education,  the  process  that  leads  to  this 
final  result  can  be  hardly  more  than  well  begun ;  but 
we  will  all  agree  that  the  tendency  of  the  school  from 
first  to  last  should  be  towards  this  Greek  ideal  of  a  per- 
fectly matured  soul.  "What  I  wish  particularly  to  insist 
on  is  that  the  nurture  of  the  normal  school  should  be 
such  as  to  bring  the  teacher  himself  well  on  his  way  tow- 
ards these  high  accomplishments,  to  the  end  that  he  may 
lend  a  kindred  inspiration  to  those  who  may  fall  under 
his  influence.  Or,  if  this  is  expecting  too  much,  there 
should  at  least  be  a  kindling  of  that  noble  zeal  which 
makes  possible  the  attainment  of  some  kind  and  degree 
of  culture.  I  cannot  conceive  that  any  man  or  woman 
is  fit  for  the  teaching  office  unless  he  "  has  a  taste  for 
various  sorts  of  knowledge,  and  is  curious  to  learn,  and  is 
never  satisfied."  A  primary  school  that  does  not  create 
something  of  this  spirit,  or  a  secondary  school  that  does 

*  "  Republic,"  475-487. 
13 


290  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

not  create  a  marked  degree  of  it,  must  be  counted  as  es- 
sentially a  failure ;  "while  in  a  normal  school  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  should  be  the  dominating  spirit. 

4.  It  would  doubtless  be  thought  a  great  misfortune  if 
the  professional  life  of  physicians  were,  on  the  average, 
no  longer  than  three  or  four  years.  In  such  a  case  hu- 
man life  would  be  constantly  exposed  to  the  dangers  of 
empirical  practice,  for  within  this  short  period  the  phy- 
sician's previous  studies,  however  careful  they  might 
have  been,  could  be  only  very  imperfectly  perfected  by 
experience ;  the  work  done  under  such  circumstances 
would  necessarily  be  crude.  Still  further,  in  anticipation 
of  this  short  period  of  service,  the  preparation  would  be 
hasty  and  superficial,  and  very  likely  the  average  grade 
of  ability  employed  in  this  avocation  would  not  be 
high.  But  the  culminating  effect  would  be  a  slow  and 
halting  progress  in  medical  science,  for  there  would  be 
no  opportunity  to  capitalize  the  perfected  fruits  of  ex- 
perience. This  hypothetical  case  describes  the  actual 
condition  of  the  teaching  profession,  and  permits  us  to 
see  the  need  of  encouraging,  in  every  possible  waj',  a 
lengthening  of  the  teacher's  term  of  office,  so  that  this 
employment  shall  become  a  vocation  rather  than  an  avo- 
cation. Tiiat  there  will  always  be  a  considerable  tran- 
sient element  in  our  profession  seems  certain,  and  this 
fact  shows  the  need  of  giving  our  serious  attention  to 
three  things:  Tliis  transient  membership  should  be 
made  relatively  less  than  it  now  is;  the  work  should 
be  directed  by  what  Plato  calls  "  true  opinion,"  *  or  the 
matured  results  of  the  best  thinking;  and  the  perma- 

*  "  And  the  lawgiver,  reviewing  his  work,  will  appoint  guardians 
to  preside  over  these  things,  some  who  walk  by  intelligence,  but 
others  by  true  opinion  only." — "  Laws,"  p.  637. 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  291 

nent  membership  should  be  greatly  increased  by  liolding 
out  as  an  inspiring  motive  the  hope  of  an  lionorable 
career.  This  brings  me  to  the  special  observation  I  wish 
to  make.  As  the  normal  school  is  a  professional  school, 
its  nurture  should  be  such  as  to  supply  its  pupils  with  mo- 
tives suflScient  in  kind  and  intensity  to  make  them  zeal- 
ously inclined  towards  teaching  as  a  permanent  calling. 
For  this  purpose,  the  main  essentials  are  four :  There 
must  be  a  general  intellectual  quickening,  so  that  there 
shall  be  developed  and  established  a  love  for  the  scholar- 
ly vocation ;  there  must  be  a  feeling  of  hearty  respect 
for  the  teaching  service,  awakened,  as  it  seems  to  me,  by 
a  knowledge  of  educational  history;  there  must  be  an 
outlook  into  the  future  which  will  disclose  the  possi- 
bility of  invention  and  discovery,  a  result  to  be  reached 
only  through  the  study  of  educational  science ;  and 
there  must  be  a  thorough  infusion  of  the  scientific 
spirit  as  distinguished  from  the  spirit  of  tradition  and 
routine. 

The  accomplished  teacher  should  be  a  man  of  science, 
in  the  sense  that  the  accomplished  physician  is  a  man  of 
science.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  motive  which  most  at- 
tracts minds  of  the  higher  order  into  certain  vocations 
is  the  opportunity  for  the  free  exercise  of  tact,  talent, 
ingenuity,  invention,  discovery,  and  all  the  resources  of 
a  well-stored  and  well-disciplined  mind.  Minds  of  the  bet- 
ter order  love  to  take  chances,  to  run  risks,  to  anticipate 
the  new,  and  to  compass  by  sagacity  some  victory  over 
danger  and  diflBculty.  To  all  such  minds,  the  possibili- 
ty of  achievement  is  an  inspiring  motive  of  the  highest 
order. 

I  will  now  turn  to  another  set  of  propositions,  where, 
possibly,  there  will  be  more  or  less  dissent,  arising,  prin- 


292  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

cipally,  from  different  points  of  view.  I  find  no  pleas- 
ure whatever  in  disagreement,  and  whenever  I  express 
dissent  it  is  out  of  loyalty  to  what  I  think  to  be  the 
truth.  Neither  have  I  any  over-confidence  in  my  own 
opinions,  for  I  can  heartily  subscribe  to  this  sentiment 
of  Helvetius :  "  J'ai  trop  souvcnt  trouve  raauvais  le  soir 
60  que  j'avais  cru  bon  le  matin  pour  avoir  une  haute 
opinion  de  mes  lumieres."  *  Particularly  in  one  of  the 
matters  I  shall  mention,  I  cannot  resist  the  feeling  tjiat 
I  must  be  wrong,  because  my  opinion  is  opposed  to  the 
one  held  by  so  very  many  who  have  better  opportunities 
for  knowing.  But  even  in  this  case  I  am  sure  I  shall 
be  pardoned  for  trying  to  express  what  I  seriously  think, 
especially  as  my  single  purpose  has  been  to  find  the 
truth. 

1.  I  am  conscious  of  the  danger  I  incur  of  seeming  to 
say  more  than  I  mean,  or  to  underrate  the  importance  of 
one  factor  in  the  elements  of  a  teacher's  preparation.  I 
believe  the  importance  of  empirical  method  has  been 
greatly  overestimated,  and  that  this  over-esteem  has  ob- 
scured the  necessity  of  generous  scholarship.  Method 
has  been  so  detached  from  the  tout  ensemble  of  teaching, 
and  has  received  such  stress  of  attention  in  the  way  of 
study  and  practice,  that,  to  some  extent,  it  has  played 
the  part  of  usurper.  Of  the  conditions  under  which 
method  is  best  learned,  I  shall  speak  further  on.  What 
I  wish  to  say  at  this  point  is,  that  important  as  method 
must  be  allowed  to  be,  it  cannot  be  accepted  as  an  equiv- 
alent for  scholarship;  and  that  if,  by  the  roZ<3  now  assigned 
it,  or  by  the  manner  in  which  it  is  taught,  the  value  of  high 
literary  culture  has  been  obscured,  the  normal  schools  of 
the  country  have  fallen  into  a  serious  error.  It  is  my 
♦  "  De  L'Esprit,"  preface,  p.  ii. 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  208 

belief,  founded  on  observations  of  the  work  done  in 
representative  normal  schools,  as  well  as  on  the  history 
of  teachers  educated  in  such  schools,  that  the  imminent 
danger  is  that  of  slender  scholarship.  Without  saying 
that  less  stress  should  be  given  to  method,  it  seems  to  me 
that  much  more  stress  should  be  placed  on  literary  cult- 
ure. If  the  Platonic  conception  of  culture  be  kept  in 
mind,  I  think  I  shall  not  be  misunderstood  when  I  say 
that  a  graduate  of  a  New  England  seminary,  or  of  a 
New  England  college,  with  no  other  knowledge  of 
method  than  he  may  have  imbibed  from  his  own  scholas- 
tic training,  is  more  likely  to  become  a  living  power  in 
the  schoolroom  than  one  who  has  pursued  a  secondary 
course  of  instruction  while  preoccupied  with  the  study 
of  method. 

2.  The  ground  for  the  last  remark  is  the  following 
proposition,  the  truth  of  which  seems  to  me  to  admit  of 
but  little  doubt:  A  study  pursued  with  direct  reference 
to  practical  ends  loses  a  cmisiderahle  portion  of  its  cult- 
ure value.  That  this  doctrine  is  supported  by  authority 
of  such  weight  as  Plato's  is  proof  that  there  is  some 
ground  for  thinking  it  true.  Plato's  antipathy  to  what 
we  call  practical  studies  is  well  known.  Thus,  he  says  of 
arithmetic,  "  It  will  be  proper  to  enforce  the  study  by 
legislative  enactment,  and  to  persuade  those  who  are 
destined  to  take  part  in  the  weightiest  affairs  of  state,  to 
study  calculation  and  devote  themselves  to  it;  .  .  .  not 
cultivating  it  with  a  view  to  buying  and  selling  as  mer- 
chants and  shopkeepers,  but  for  purposes  of  war,  and  to 
facilitate  the  conversion  of  tlic  soul  itself  from  the  clinnge- 
able  to  the  true  and  real."  *  Throughout  his  entire  dis- 
cussion of  the  educational  question,  Plato  is  concerned 
•"Republic,"  525. 


f?) 


394  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

with  tlie  disciplinary  or  culture  value  of  studies;  the 
mind  is  to  be  made  the  perfected  instrument  of  thinking, 
and  the  soul  is  finally  to  be  brought  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  pure  truth  ;  the  attainments  most  to  be  desired  are 
self-poise  and  a  sense  of  unity  and  completeness.  This 
upward  movement  of  the  soul,  as  Plato  thought,  is 
checked  and  destroyed  by  descending  to  practical  activi- 
ties. Unity  and  wholeness  are  essential  to  culture,  the 
utilities  disintegrate  and  destroy.  The  broad  contrast  is 
here  between  the  practical  value  of  a  subject  and  its  value 
for  culture,  and  the  thought  seems  to  be  that  as  inte- 
gration is  essential  to  culture,  and  disintegration  equally 
essential  to  art,  the  two  processes  are  antagonistic.  For 
example,  the  culture  value  of  a  piece  of  literary  art,  as 
the  "  Paradise  Lost,"  will  be  destroyed  by  making  the 
poem  a  parsing  exercise. 

Now,  from  this  general  truth,  which  I  have  attempted 
to  illustrate  rather  "than  to  discuss,  it  is  but  a  step  to  the 
jinference  that  a  general  training  and  a  technical  training 
are  incompatible  when  conducted  simultaneously;  or 
that,  if  a  pupil  is  preoccupied  with  the  utilities  which  his 
course  of  study  may  serve,  he  is  thereby  debarred  from 
the  privileges  of  intellectual  culture.  In  the  matter  of 
normal-school  instruction,  the  case,  under  the  foregoing 
hypothesis,  will  stand  thus:  in  proportion  as  the  tech- 
nical element  is  brought  into  prominence,  the  course  of 
study  will  lose  its  culture  value,  and  by  so  much  will  di- 
minish the  real  teaching  power  of  the  pupil.  Of  course, 
this  conclusion  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  no  teach- 
ing of  high  excellence  is  possible  without  a  confirmed 
love  of  letters  and  a  considerable  degree  of  literary  cult- 
ure. 

Tills  view,  as  to  the  effect  of  concurrent  general  and 


THE   NORMAL  SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  295 

teclinical  training  in  normal  scliools,  is  by  no  means  new. 
Thus,  in  his  "  Training  of  Teachers,"  Mr,  Laurie  observes 
that  "  the  moment  we  substitute  a  distinct  practical  pur- 
pose ...  as  the  exclusive  aim  of  education,  and  arrange 
the  whole  machinery  of  an  institution  to  attain  any  one 
of  these  ends  exclusively,  the  mental  life  of  the  student  be- 
comes at  once  narrowed,  and  education  in  the  higher  sense 
disappeai-s  altogether"  (p.  11).  To  the  same  effect  is  this 
quotation  from  Mr.  Fitch's  "Lectures  on  Teaching :"  "It 
is  not  good  that  this  science,  or,  indeed,  any  other  science, 
should  be  mainly  pursued ^e/*  8e,[n  separate  training  in- 
stitutions or  professional  colleges,  where  the  horizon  is 
necessarily  bounded,  and  where  everything  is  learned  with 
a  special  view  to  the  future  necessities  of  the  school  or 
the  classroom  "  (p.  5). 

3.  In  the  next  place,  this  many-sided  problem  requires 
us  to  note  the  effect  of  habit  on  growth.  I  have  been 
impressed  with  this  remark  by  Mr.  Sully,  in  his  late 
work  on  Psychology  :  "  Habit  refers  rather  to  the  fix- 
ing of  mental  operations  in  particular  directions.  Taken 
in  this  narrow  sense,  habit  is  in  a  manner  opposed  to 
growth.  By  following  out  a  train  of  ideas  again  and 
again,  in  a  certain  way,  we  lose  the  capability  of  varying 
this  order,  of  readapting  the  combination  to  new  circum- 
stances. Habit  is  thus  the  element  of  persistence,  of  cns- 
tom,  the  conservative  tendency,  while  growth  implies 
flexibility,  modifiability,  susceptibility  to  new  impres- 
sions, the  progressive  tendency  "  (p.  49),  To  this  state- 
ment I  think  the  following'  observation  should  be  added: 
The  bad  effect  of  habit  in  checking  growth  and  versatili- 
ty is  great  in  proportion  as  the  range  of  intellectual  vis- 
ion is  narrow  and  the  degree  of  mental  discipline  low. 
Meagre  scholarship  succumbs  to  routine,  liberal  scholar- 


296  SCIENCE    OF   EDUCATION. 

ship  not  only  escapes  its  tjrannj',  but  may  dominate 
habit.  Tliere  can  be  no  versatility  without  breadth,  and, 
at  the  best,  breadth  of  scholarship  is  of  difficult  attain- 
ment in  secondary  schools ;  so  that  it  seems  to  me  a  dan- 
gerous procedure  to  train  pupils  of  a  normal  school  into 
fixed  methods  of  teaching,  based  on  authority,  at  least 
before  they  have  been  instructed  in  doctrine.  The  fear 
is  that  through  preoccupation  with  the  study  of  method, 
and  through  the  illiberal  effects  of  fixed  habits,  there 
may  not  bo  that  quickening  into  the  intellectual  life 
which  is,  of  all  gifts,  the  most  precious  endowment  of 
,  the  teacher.  My  observations  have  been  confined  chief- 
ly to  "Western  normal  schools  and  the  teachers  they  have 
'educated,  and  I  have  been  struck  with  the  fact  that  only 
'a  very  few,  comparatively,  of  those  who  have  had  their 
I  training  in  these  schools  manifest  a  decided  love  of  let- 
jters ;  in  some  way  the  greater  number  seem  to  have  es- 
'caped  this  contagion  of  noble  minds.*  If  this  is  general- 
i  ly  true,  the  phenomenon  must  have  some  general  cause 
for  which  there  should  be  diligent  search,  and  in  these 
two  paragraphs  I  have  attempted  to  give  what  appears 
to  me  a  probable  explanation.f 

It  should  be  added  that,  according  to  one  conception  of 

♦  "  A  training  college  where  every  student  belongs  to  the  samo 
social  stratum,  and  pursues  the  same  course,  with  the  same  profes- 
sion in  view,  gives  little  room  for  free  play  of  mind  and  character. 
It  may  mould  and  moderate  the  average  student,  but  it  stunts,  if  it 
does  not  warp,  the  choicer  spirits." — Journal  of  Education  (Lou- 
don), July  1, 1885. 

t  Rousseau's  love  of  paradox  should  not  lead  us  to  overlook  tho 
essential  truth  that  is  contained  in  this  declaration :  "  The  only 
habit  a  child  should  be  allowed  to  form  is  to  contract  no  habits 
whatever." — "  fimile,"  Miss  Worthington's  translation,  p,  24. 


THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  207 

the  normal  school,  what  I  have  ventured  to  speak  of  as  a 
fault  would  be  esteemed  as  a  peculiar  excellence.  I  have 
heard  it  maintained  by  two  distinguished  educators  that 
the  most  desirable  endowment  of  a  teacher  is  mechanical 
exactness  and  expertness,  and  that  freedom  and  versatili- 
ty are  dangerous.  Tliis  much  must  be  conceded:  if  the 
teacher  is  illiterate  it  is  best  that  he  should  be  a  machine  ; 
but  if  it  is  allowed  that  the  teacher  should  be  scholarly, 
he  must  be  granted  the  largest  play  of  tact,  talent,  and 
invention.  Only  typical  uniformities  in  method  should 
be  insisted  on;  in  dealing  with  spirit,  analogies  drawn 
from  the  manipulations  of  matter  are  full  of  danger. 
Within  what  I  have  called  typical  nniformities,  a  teach- 
er's method  should  have  the  characteristic  stamp  of  his 
own  genius  and  personality.  For  example,  following  the 
general  law  of  presentation,  the  sequence  will  uniformly 
be  from  aggregates  to  elements,  and  then  from  elements 
back  to  aggregates ;  but,  in  the  details  of  practice,  there 
may  be  within  the  sphere  of  this  law  the  greatest  diver- 
sity of  procedure.  No  two  good  teachers  of  the  word 
method  or  of  the  sentence  method  will  conduct  a  recita- 
tion in  reading  in  the  same  fashion. 

4.  Another  preliminary  statement  that  seems  to  me 
essential  to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  normal-school 
question  is  this :  one  should  know  considerably  more  than 
he  expects  to  teach  /  his  grade  of  scholarship  should  he  con- 
siderably higher  than  that  of  his  pupils.  The  reasons  for 
this  rule  are  obvious :  a  teacher  who  is  compelled  to  work 
nearly  up  to  the  limits  of  his  scholarship  loses  Iiis,self-  S 
respect,  and  so  misses  the  necessary  support  of  moran 
courage;  a^lear  perspective  can  be  gained  only  from  a 
considerable  eminence ;  the  parts  of  the  educating  process 

that  fall  within  the  province  of  the  individual  teacher 

13* 


298  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

should  be  seen  as  they  arc  related  to  a  comprehensive 
whole ;  and,  perhaps  more  than  all  else,  a  teacher  cannot 
create  among  bis  pnpils  an  inspiration  after  higher  at- 
tainments, unless  his  own  example  is  an  open  invitation 
to  covet  the  highest  gifts.  If  this  general  doctrine  is 
true,  it  seems  to  me  to  warrant  the  following  rule:  A 
teacher  for  a  school  of  a  given  grade  should  be  educated 
in  a  school  of  a  higher  grade.  If  the  education  of  the 
country  could  be  administered  under  the  spirit  of  this 
rule,  two  or  three  generations  would  suffice  to  exhibit  a 
marked  elevation  in  the  intellectual  condition  of  the  peo- 
ple. When  the  typical  Scotch  schoolmaster  held  a 
diploma  from  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  or  Abei-deen,  the  type 
of  intellectual  life,  as  a  prevalent  fact,  was  higher  in 
Scotland  than  in  any  other  country  in  Europe,  and  de- 
cadence in  this  intellectual  superiority  set  in  when  the 
university  graduate  was  displaced  by  men  who  had 
received  their  training  in  schools  of  secondary  instruc- 
tion. 

5.  The  last  of  the  debatable  questions  that  the  pur- 
pose of  this  chapter  requires  me  to  discuss  is  this :  Is 
academic  instruction  a  legitimate  function  of  the  normal 
school,  or  should  this  school  assume  that  its  pupils  have 
a  competent  knowledge  of  subjects,  and  then  concentrate 
its  efforts  on  purely  professional  work, — instruction  in 
method  and  doctrine  ?  This  is  a  very  clear  case  in  which 
a  seeming,  but  perhaps  mistaken,  ideal  is  practically  im- 
possible. There  is  no  doubt,  I  think,  that,  in  general, 
professional  instruction  should  be  something  superadded 
to  a  general  or  liberal  education,  and  administered  apart. 
The  complete  man  should  be  formed  first,  and  then  he 
should  be  converted  into  an  instrument.  For  example, 
the  physician  should  first  receive  the  best  intellectual 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  290 

training  that  is  attainable,  and,  wlicn  this  has  been  com- 
pleted, he  should  concentrate  his  whole  attention  on  the 
special  studies  that  his  profession  requires.  And  so  for 
the  lawyer  and  the  clergyman.  In  all  these  cases,  the 
knowledge  that  is  acquired  during  the  course  of  liberal 
education  is  not  knowledge  that  is  necessary  for  profes- 
sional use;  but  in  the  case  of  the  teacher,  the  matter  that 
is  learned  primarily  as  literature  or  science  is,  at  the 
same  time,  an  essential  part  of  his  professional  equip- 
ment. It  thus  happens  that  every  good  school,  in  a  true 
and  very  important  sense,  fulfils  two  of  the  essential 
functions  of  a  normal  school :  it  communicates  the  knowl- 
edge which  the  teacher  must  in  turn  communicate,  and 
it  exhibits  methods  which  he  may  adopt  in  his  own  prac- 
tice. We  shall  be  quite  near  the  truth  in  stating  that 
the  function  of  the  superintendent  is  to  reproduce  tlie 
school  in  which  he  was  educated,  and  that  the  function 
of  the  teacher  is  to  reproduce  a  part  of  the  school  in 
which  lie  was  educated.  When  we  say  that  the  sciiool  to 
be  reproduced,  wholly,  or  in  part,  has  first  been  trans- 
formed into  an  attainable  ideal,  have  we  not  stated  the 
whole  truth  ?  Manifestly,  if  there  is  to  be  only  an  exact 
reproduction  of  the  actual  school,  there  can  be  no  prog- 
ress in  education.  A  new  factor  must  be  incorporated 
into  each  reproduction,  so  that  there  shall  be  at  least  an 
arithmetical  cumulation  of  improvements.  Whence  is 
this  new  factor  of  rising  magnitude  and  value  to  be  sup- 
plied ?  This,  I  imagine,  is  the  peculiar  function  of  the 
normal  school.  We  might  here  make  a  proximate  defi- 
nition of  the  normal  school  as  follows:  a  model  school  of 
secondary  instruction,  whose  pupils  purpose  to  become 
teachers,  and  arc  fitted  to  do  educational  work  of  a 
higher  type  through  some  mastership  of  tiie  history  and 


300  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  science  of  education.  Save  in  the  last  particular,  tliis 
is  the  historical  conception  of  the  nonnnl  school.  This 
term  was  evidently  borrowed  from  the  French,  and  in  a 
debate  of  the  convention  in  1794,  Lakanal  defined  it  as 
follows :  "  Normal,  from  the  Latin  norma,  rule.  These 
schools  are  to  be,  in  fact,  the  type  or  the  standard  for  all 
the  others."  * 

The  main  elements  of  this  problem,  as  I  have  con- 
ceived it,  have  now  been  brought  forward ;  and  it  re- 
mains only  to  state  my  conclusions  in  the  form  of  a 
general  summary,  with  such  explanatory  discussion  as 
may  appear  necessary  for  the  sake  of  clearness. 

1.  The  three  distinctive  aims  of  the  normal  school  are 
ScnoLAKSHip,  Method,  and  Doctkine.  There  is  doubt- 
less great  unanimity  in  recognizing  the  fact  that  these 
are  the  three  elements  of  a  teacher's  professional  educa- 
tion which  the  normal  school  should  give.  The  ques- 
tions in  dispute  relate  to  their  relative  importance  and 
to  the  manner  in  which  they  should  be  pursued.  The 
following  paragraphs  will  indicate  the  line  of  thought 
into  which  I  have  been  almost  insensibly  drawn. 

2.  Of  the  three  elements  I  have  named,  I  believe  that 
pre-eminent  importance  should  be  assigned  to  scholar- 
tship.     First  of  all,  the  teacher  must  be  a  scholar,  and  no 

/part  of  his  professional  education  must  be  conducted  at 
the  expense  of  scholarship.  Under  scholarship  I  would 
include  some  sensible  degree  of  literary  culture,  one  in- 
dication of  which  is  a  pronounced  love  of  good  books. 
The  course  of  academic  study  should  be,  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  term,  liberal.  The  specific  discipline  yielded 
by  such  subjects  as  arithmetic,  algebra,  geometry,  gram- 
mar, and  physics  should  be  relieved  by  the  three  culture 
*  See  "  Dictionnaire  de  Pddagogie,"  article  "  Normales." 


( 


THE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  801 

subjects  that  fall  within  the  range  of  secondarj  instrnc- 
tion — geography,  history,  and  literature.  Latin  and  one 
modern  language,  say  French,  seem  to  me  indispensable 
for  the  purpose  I  have  in  view.  I  name  French  because 
the  fruit-bearing  stage  can  be  reached  so  much  sooner  in 
this  language  than  in  German,  and  also  because  much  of 
the  pedagogical  literature  that  it  is  so  desirable  to  read 
is  now  to  be  found  in  this  language.  The  ability  to  read 
with  ease  a  book  in  another  tongue  gives  the  student  a 
delicious  sense  of  power  which  will  foster  the  scholarly 
spirit.  While  in  pursuit  of  scholarship  as  here  consid- 
ered, I  wonder  if  I  am  wrong  in  thinking  that  the  pupil's 
mind  should  not  be  kept  intent  on  the  technical  uses 
which  each  study  is  hereafter  to  serve.  It  seems  to  me 
that  I  am  not.  At  least,  I  would  not  have  pupils  pre- 
occupied with  hourly  anxieties  about  the  demands  of  the 
classroom.  It  is  not  prevision  that  I  am  discouraging, 
but  a  certain  sort  of  prevision.  A  comprehensive  scheme 
of  life  that  is  most  befitting  a  rational  creature  must  ex- 
clude anxious  questioning  as  to  what  we  shall  eat,  or 
what  we  shall  drink,  or  with  what  we  shall  be  clothed. 
These  subordinate  purposes  are  all  included  in  a  wider 
and  higher  purpose,  and  they  are  best  provided  for  by  a 
living  allegiance  to  the  needs  of  the  higher  life.  I  sus- 
pect that  this  truth  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the  intellec- 
tual life  of  the  teacher. 

It  may  be  added  that  normal  schools  have  special  need 
to  guard  the  conditions  of  intellectual  culture.  Their 
pupils,  for  the  most  part,  have  missed  the  opportunities 
for  a  careful  elementary  training.  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
or  eighteen  the  boy  at  the  country-side  obeys  an  impulse 
to  fit  himself  for  the  public-school  service,  and  so  repairs 
to  the  nearest  normal  school.     In  this  he  does  well ;  but, 


302  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

from  the  lack  of  systematic  intellectual  training,  there 
will  be  more  or  less  ingrained  resistance  to  the  influences 
of  the  new  scholastic  life.  In  the  university  with  which 
I  am  connected  students  over  twenty-one  years  of  age 
are  admitted  to  certain  studies  without  passing  the  usual 
entrance  examinations;  and,  with  reference  to  some  of 
these,  the  remark  is  not  nnf reqnently  made,  "  He  began 
too  late  !"  I  believe  that  this  remark  indicates  the  intel- 
lectual condition  of  many  students  in  normal  schools, 
and,  if  so,  a  somewhat  extraordinary  effort  must  be  made 
to  stimulate  such  minds  into  an  activity  which  shall  be 
self-sustaining.* 

3.  I  now  turn  to  the  question  of  method.  Let  us  be- 
gin by  saying  that  method  is  the  way  to  an  end ;  and 
that  the  sum  of  a  teacher's  methods  constitutes  his  art. 
Let  it  be  premised  also  that  a  clear  and  definite  knowl- 
edge of  the  ends  to  be  attained  by  the  study  of  the  vari- 
ous subjects  constitutes  a  considerable  part  of  the  science 
of  method.  For  to  know  our  destination  is  to  know,  by 
implication,  the  route  over  which  we  must  pass  to  reach 
it.  The  other  source  of  prevision  is  some  law  or  princi- 
ple, usually  psychological.  Knowing  the  end  to  be  at- 
tained, as  in  reading  or  arithmetic,  ingenuity  will  sug- 
gest certain  means.  Some  of  these  will  be  rejected 
because  they  contravene  a  ps^'chological  law,  while  others 
are  adopted  because  they  are  in  accord  with  such  law. 
This  method  of  learning  method  may  be  called  the  sci- 
entific or  rational,  and  will  be  further  noticed  in  the  next 
paragraph. 

Method  may  be  taught  by  dictation,  as  when  we  read 

*  The  membership  of  the  New  England  normal  schools  is  com- 
posed very  largely  of  high-school  graduates.  In  all  such  cases  the 
danger  I  refer  to  is  greatly  diminished. 


THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL   PROBLEM.  803 

books  on  pedagogy,  or  listen  to  lectures  on  the  art  of 
teaching;  that  is,  we  are  advised  or  directed  to  follow 
certain  rules  or  processes  on  mere  authority,  the  reason 
being  scarcely  consulted  in  the  case.  This  mode  of  pro- 
cedure is  exposed  to  all  tlie  objections  that  lie  against 
the  use  of  mere  rules.  Rules,  we  know,  are  indiscrimi- 
nating.  They  do  not  take  into  account  quantity,  quality, 
time,  or  place.  They  leave  little  or  no  liberty  for  choice, 
and  so  do  not  cultivate  versatility.  As  mere  knowledge, 
rules  are  unfruitful,  as  tlieir  action  is  limited  with  almost 
fatal  precision,  while  their  reaction,  in  the  way  of  disci- 
pline, is  narrowing  and  hardening. 

The  better  aspect  of  method  taught  empirically  is  this: 
the  aggregate  of  such  instruction  may  result  in  the  for- 
mation of  an  ideal,  more  or  less  clear  and  adequate,  of 
the  school  and  its  mode  of  administration,  and  so  may 
serve  a  good  purpose  in  the  work  of  reproduction  that  has 
been  previously  noted.  Besides,  if  we  must  choose  be- 
tween a  rule-taught  tejicher  and  one  who  knows  neither 
doctrine  nor  exact  method,  we  should  not  hesitate  to  se- 
lect the  first.  Mechanical  positiveness  and  exactness  are 
incomparably  better  than  ignorant  uncertainty  and  vague- 
ness. It  has  been  said  that  this  mechanism  is  all  that 
many  teachers  can  attain  to.  If  this  be  true,  and  if  such 
teachers  cannot  be  spared  from  the  public-school  service, 
then  this  way  of  learning  method  has  considerable  in  its 
favor. 

In  the  third  place,  method  may  be  learned  from  ob- 
servation, as  in  a  school  conducted  by  a  skilful  teacher, 
frequented  on  occasion  by  pupils  in  training;  or  in  the 
informal,  almost  unconscious,  way  which  makes  of  every 
school  a  normal  school,  and  of  every  pupil  a  possible 
teacher.     As  before  stated,  I  believe  that  this  was  the 


304  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

original  conception  of  tlie  teachers'  seminary,  tliat  it 
shonld  be  a  model  school  which  might  be  reproduced  by 
pupils  who  had  learned  the  art  of  teaching  from  imita- 
tion. This  method  has  the  obvious  advantage  over  tlio 
one  last  stated  that  it  is  a  study  of  the  concrete  instead 
of  the  abstract.  An  obvious  disadvantage  is  that  the 
school  studied  may  not  be  the  type  of  the  one  that  is  to 
be  produced.  This  danger  is  sometimes  avoided  by  hav- 
ing a  model  school  which  represents  all  the  grades  of  a 
public  school. 

Strictly  speaking,  I  know  of  no  other  ways  of  learning 
method  than  those  now  discussed — the  scientific,  the  em- 
pirical, and  the  imitative.  Practice-work  will  be  sug- 
gested as  a  fourth,  but  it  is  plain  that  the  method  must 
be  known  before  even  an  attempt  can  be  made  to  put  it 
in  practice.  Practice,  or,  as  it  is  more  properly  called, 
experiment,  merely  serves  to  make  a  method  more  com- 
pletely known.  But  practice-w^ork,  in  connection  with 
normal-school  instruction,  has  become  so  prominent  that 
it  deserves  our  marked  attention. 

I  think  it  is  not  extravagant  to  say  that  a  practice 
school  is  generally  regarded  as  an  indispensable  adjunct 
to  a  normal  school;  and  a  trained  teacher  has  come  to 
mean  one  who  has  served  a  longer  or  shorter  appren- 
ticeship in  the  experimental  school.  A  school  that,  for 
any  reason,  is  not  provided  with  this  necessary  adjunct 
feels  itself  in  an  attitude  of  apology.  From  all  I  have 
observed  of  the  actual  results  of  this  kind  of  training,  I 
do  not  share  the  popular  appreciation  of  these  experi- 
mental schools.  In  the  main,  the  teachers  thus  educated, 
as  I  have  observed  their  work,  embody  and  display  the 
very  spirit  of  routine.  What  they  do  they  do  with  me- 
chanical exactness,  and  if  their  methods  chance  to  be 


TUE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM,  805 

bad,  as  sometimes  happens,  they  are  followed  with  fatal 
persistence.  At  the  same  time,  there  is  often  a  marked 
absence  of  the  scholarly  spirit,  and  an  indisposition  to 
strive  for  higher  attainments.  The  effect  of  technic  on 
culture  I  have  already  attempted  to  illustrate,  and  so  I 
need  not  restate  this  ground  of  objection  to  practice- 
work.  I  will  only  add  that  the  conditions  under  which 
this  alleged  training  takes  place  are  so  peculiar  and  un- 
like those  under  which  real  school  work  will  be  done 
that  harm  is  quite  likely  to  result  from  it.  The  criticism 
that  follows  this  practice -teaching  is  quite  likely  to  be 
either  superficial  and  worthless,  or  hypercritical  and  per- 
nicious. If  this  experimental  work  is  done,  it  seems  to 
me  that  it  should  be  done  subject  to  these  conditions: 
the  academic  training  should  be  well  advanced,  and  the 
pupil  should  have  gained  a  considerable  mastery  of  edu- 
cational doctrines,  all  to  the  end  that  he  may  preserve 
his  freedom  and  interpret  the  lessons  of  daily  experience. 
A  school  of  observation  seems  to  me  indispensable.  The 
normal  school  itself  will  illustrate  the  high-school  grade, 
but  some  express  provision  should  be  made  for  repre- 
senting the  primary  and  grammar  grades. 

4.  The  strictly  professional  studies  of  a  normal-school 
course  are  psychology  and  the  history  of  education.  All 
the  reasons  that  enforce  the  study  of  physiology  on  phy- 
sicians may  enforce  the  study  of  psychology  on  profes- 
sional teachers.  In  each  case  he  is  essentially  an  empiric 
who  has  not  a  competent  knowledge  of  his  respective 
science.  A  science,  truly  known,  is  an  art  in  posse  ^  on 
the  occasion  of  experience  it  is  converted  into  rules  for 
practice.  A  liberal  art — like  medicine,  law,  or  teaching — 
is  best  learned  implicitly  through  its  correlative  science. 
Psychology  can  be  taught  in  such  a  way  as  to  have  al- 


306  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

most  the  concrete  interest  of  geography.  Studied  in 
this  manner,  it  is  a  culture  subject  of  abnost  co-ordinate 
vahie  with  the  three  previously  named.  Under  wise  in- 
struction, students  in  secondary  schools  can  become  ps}'- 
chologists  in  the  same  sense  that  they  can  become  geolo- 
gists; in  both  cases  they  can  attain  to  an  intellectual 
comprehension  of  these  sciences.  In  the  case  of  teachers, 
psychology  has  this  marked  advantage,  that  its  general 
truths  can  readily  be  converted  into  practical  rules  on 
the  occasion  of  experience.  To  the  teacher  of  awakened 
intelligence  it  is  an  intensely  practical  subject.  Psychol- 
ogy exhibits  the  abstract  or  scientific  phase  of  teaching, 
while  its  concrete  counterpart  is  exhibited,  or  should  be 
exhibited,  in  the  school  of  observation.  The  bringing  of 
the  really  fruitful  portions  of  psychology  into  greater 
prominence  would  be  a  desirable,  though,  I  trust,  not 
radical,  change  in  the  normal-school  courses  of  study.* 
Plato  asserts  ("  Pepublic,"  368)  that  historical  anal- 

*  "  There  is,  I  freely  grant,  such  a  thing  as  teaching  genius,  which 
is  independent- of  training.  There  are  teachers  also  who,  though 
destitute  of  this  genius,  are  yet  thoughtful  men,  in  whose  minds 
the  routine  methods  of  the  normal  schools  are  vivified  into  living 
principles ;  but  in  the  vast  majority  of  cases  these  technical  methods 
of  the  school- work  shop  remain  merely  in  the  dead  form  of  rules  and 
maxims,  and  leave  the  teacher  precisely  where  the  apt  mechanic 
now  is.  It  is  the  insight  into  philosophical  principles  tliat  gives 
a  true  and  never-failing  supply  of  intellectual  energy  to  the  teach- 
er; it  is  the  apprehension  of  ideas  that  ennobles  and  inspires  him; 
it  is  contact  with  the  history  of  past  efforts  to  educate  the  race 
that  gives  to  him  breadth  and  humanity.  Without  the  sustaining 
energy  thus  supplied,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  teacher's  vocation  is 
dreary  enough;  icith  it  there  is  a  daily  renewal  of  spiritual  life  for 
himself  and  his  pupils." — Laurie,  "  The  Training  of  Teachers,"  p. 
305. 


TUE  NORMAL-SCHOOL  PROBLEM.  807 

ysis  is  the  counterpart  of  psycliological  analysis,  and  in 
this  he  is  followed  by  Cousin  ("  History  of  Phil./'  vol.  i., 
lect.  ii.).  The  thought  is  that  the  essential  elements  of 
human  nature  pass  into  the  current  of  history,  and  are 
there  embodied  in  a  concrete  form,  magnified  by  many 
diameters;  the  page  of  history  is  the  screen  on  which 
are  delineated  the  intellectual  and  the  moral  ideas  of  the 
human  soul.  The  thought  that  I  wish  to  impress  is  that 
educational  history  is  the  counterpart  and  proof  of  edu- 
cational psychology ;  and  that  these  subjects  are  the  es- 
sential constituents  of  a  teacher's  professional  study. 
The  nearest  approach  to  a  radical  change  that  I  feel  as- 
sured in  recommending  is  the  giving  of  a  large  place  to 
the  study  of  the  history  of  education. 

By  its  historical  and  actual  constitution  the  normal 
school,  in  its  scheme  of  academic  study,  is  necessarily  a 
school  of  secondary  instruction.  In  consequence  of  this 
fact,  so  far  as  it  recruits  the  teaching  service  of  the  coun- 
try, the  upper  limit  of  its  field  must  fall  somewhat  within 
the  high-school  grade.  I  call  attention  to  this  fact  to 
show  that,  as  at  present  constituted,  the  normal  schools 
are  not  fitted  to  dispense  the  professional  education  need- 
ed by  head  masters,  principals,  superintendents,  or  even 
first  assistants  in  high  schools.  If  studied  preparation  is 
to  be  made  for  these  branches  of  the  service,  it  must  be 
made  in  the  colleges  and  the  universities  of  the  country. 
And  when  this  is  done,  as  it  assuredly  will  be,  its  most 
marked  effect  will  be  upon  the  normal  school  proper. 
Enthrone  the  normal  idea  in  the  high  places  of  the  aca- 
demic world,  and,  by  a  process  of  downward  diffusion,  it 
will  inspire  the  whole  teaching  service  of  the  country. 

The  last  thought  I  wish  to  express  is  that  we  ought 
never  to  have  need  of  any  radical  change  in  the  adminis- 


8C8  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tratioa  of  our  educational  affairs.  If  such  changes  are 
ever  necessary  it  is  because  there  has  been  some  marked 
arrest  of  growth.  The  most  that  we  can  desire  is  con- 
tinuity of  growth,  or  gradual  evolution  —  the  almost  in- 
sensible transformation  of  the  old  into  the  new.  The 
highest  office  of  the  educator  is,  by  wise  retrospection 
and  prevision,  to  minister  to  this  upward  transformation. 
Whoever  preaches  revolution  is  worthy  of  suspicion  and 
discredit. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE. 

All  schemes  for  the  improvement  of  the  teachers  of 
the  country  must  recognize  the  fact  that  only  a  very 
small  percentage  of  them  have  had  any  preparatory 
training  of  the  professional  or  technical  type.  Even  at 
this  day,  when  the  normal  idea  has  become  so  prevalent, 
the  assumption  is  broadly  current  that  general  scholar- 
ship is  the  sole  prerequisite  to  teaching.  This  assump- 
tion is  supported  by  the  legal  requirements  for  gaining 
a  license  to  teach;  for  almost  the  only  requirement  is 
decent  proficiency  in  the  elements  of  an  education.  In 
other  words,  the  law  does  not  furnish  a  motive  sufficient 
to  induce  teachers  to  make  an  express  preparation  for 
the  practice  of  their  art. 

Another  circumstance  that  goes  to  swell  the  number 
of  unprepared  teachers  is  the  obvious  fact  that  teaching 
is  for  the  most  part  an  avocation.  It  is  not  a  voca- 
tion, much  less  a  profession.  Numbers  of  young  men 
and  multitudes  of  young  women  resort  to  teaching  for 
a  brief  season,  with  no  intention  of  making  it  a  serious 
business,  and,  therefore,  with  no  motive  to  make  a  stud- 
ied preparation  for  schoolroom  duties. 

The  fact  is,  I  repeat,  we  must  assume  that  our  public- 
school  service  is  to  be  administered,  in  great  part,  by 
young  men  and  women  who  have  made  no  previous 
Btndy  of  the  teaching  art ;  and  one  of  the  great  educa- 


310  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tional  problems  of  the  day  is  how  to  promote  the  pro- 
fessional education  of  teachers  who  have  entered  the 
pnblic-school  service  with  but  little  or  no  preparatory 
training. 

I  think  we  may  say  at  the  outset  that  the  function  of 
the  normal  school  is  to  take  in  hand  the  training  of  pro- 
fessional teachers;  whereas,  the  distinctive  function  of 
the  institute  is  to  provide  some  training  for  non-pro- 
fessional teachers.  Those  who  frequent  our  normal 
schools,  as  a  rule,  do  so  with  the  deliberate  intent  of 
making  teaching  a  vocation  for  a  sliorter  or  a  longer 
period ;  and,  at  the  time  when  they  actually  enter 
upon  their  duties,  they  have  already  learned  more  or  less 
of  their  art.  The  institute,  on  the  other  hand,  assumes 
that  very  many  who  are  actually  teaching,  or  who  pro- 
pose to  teach,  have  never  received  a  normal-school  train- 
ing; and  so  its  special  function  is  to  supplement  the 
normal  school— to  do  a  little  of  the  work  that  it  should 
have  done,  but  which  it  did  not  have  the  opportunity 
of  doing. 

Military  life  furnishes  an  illustration  of  the  distinctive 
functions  of  the  normal  school  and  the  institute.  The 
professional  soldier  is  educated  at  West  Point;  but  the 
exigencies  of  the  country  sometimes  require  the  services 
of  large  numbers  of  non-professional  soldiers.  These 
volunteers  are  usually  trained  for  a  few  days  before  they 
see  actual  service.  In  camps  of  instruction  they  are 
taught  the  elements  of  military  tactics,  while  their  train- 
ing is  extended  and  perfected  by  active  service  in  the  field. 

And  so  we  may  define  an  institute  as  a  normal  school 
with  a  very  short  course  of  study ;  and  we  may  state  its 
general  purpose  to  be,  first,  to  instruct  the  prospective, 
but  non-professional,  teacher  in  the  elements  of  his  art, 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  KEADING  CIRCLE.  311 

and  thus  to  give  some  extension  to  his  knowledge  and 
skill.  In  this  statement  I  liavc  sought  to  indicate  the 
primary  and  main  purpose  of  the  institute.  I  do  not 
forget  that  a  secondary  purpose  should  be  to  stimulate 
and  assist  teachers  who  are  further  advanced  in  the  the- 
ory and  practice  of  their  art. 

Now,  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  let  us  inquire  what 
knowledge  is  needed  in  order  to  enter  upon  the  work  of 
teaching  with  fair  hopes  of  success;  what  are  the  ele- 
ments of  professional  knowledge,  properly  so  called ; 
and  what  part  of  this  work  the  limitations  of  the  in- 
stitute will  permit  it  to  undertake. 

1.  It  is  plain  that  the  very  first  requisite  is  a  compe- 
tent knowledge  of  subjects.  The  teacher  must  know 
how  to  read,  spell,  and  write,  and  must  have  some  knowl- 
edge of  arithmetic,  grammar,  and  geography,  as  the  nec- 
essary condition  of  assisting  others  in  the  attainment  of 
this  knowledge.  It  is  necessary  to  insist  on  this  require- 
ment, for  two  reasons :  (1)  The  doctrine  is  beginning  to 
prevail  that  teacher  and  pupil  should  move  on  the  same 
plane,  both  should  be  tyros  and  learners,  and  that  the 
chief  point  of  superiority  on  the  part  of  the  teacher  is 
his  greater  mental  alertness  and  persistence.  Of  course, 
absolutely  speaking,  the  teacher  should  be  a  learner ;  but, 
relatively,  he  should  be  learned.  In  geography,  for  ex- 
ample, his  scholarship  should  not  be  simply  a  thing  in 
progress,  but  a  fact  accomplished.  In  the  work  of  the 
school,  teacher  and  pupil  are  not  co-ordinate  elements. 
And  (2)  in  our  day  there  is  such  insistence  on  method, 
as  distinguished  from  scholarship,  that  we  are  in  danger 
of  underestimating  the  importance  of  high  scholastic  at- 
tainments. In  the  earlier  day  scholarship  was  everything, 
method  almost  nothing ;  and  the  natural  recoil  from  this 


313  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

error  has  induced  an  exaggerated  belief  in  method  as 
some  substitute  for  scholarship.  I  think  it  cannot  be  too 
much  insisted  on  that  a  school  of  a  given  grade  should 
have  for  its  teacher  one  who  has  been  educated  in  a  school 
of  a  higher  grade. 

After  scholarship,  the  thing  of  next  importance  is 
method.  Two  teachers  of  equal  attainments  may  stand 
to  each  other  in  real  force  as  ten  to  one,  the  difference  be- 
ing due  to  high  and  low  qualities  of  method.  I  use  this 
term  to  cover  all  the  processes  of  the  schoolroom — organ- 
ization, government,  and  instruction.  Many  have  not 
observed  the  fact  that  improvement  in  methods  of  teach- 
ing has  been  as  real,  and,  perhaps,  as  rapid,  as  improve- 
ment in  the  processes  of  agriculture  or  of  manufacture. 
There  is  scarcely  a  greater  difference  between  gathering 
grain  with  a  cradle  and  with  a  reaper  than  between  the 
alphabetic  and  the  word  method.  There  is  not  a  single 
method  in  schoolroom  practice  that  has  not  suffered 
marked  revision  and  improvement  within  the  last  twenty- 
five  years.  Now,  what  the  institute  is  to  insist  on  is, 
that  all  teachers  under  training  shall  be  taught  the  very 
best  current  method  of  doing  the  various  work  of  the 
school. 

So  far  we  have  been  dealing  with  the  matter  and  the 
method  of  the  teacher's  outfit;  the  body,  so  to  speak, 
of  his  professional  self.  But  this  body  must  be  animat- 
ed and  inspired  by  a  spirit.  I  am  now  speaking  of  some- 
thing that  cannot  be  articulately  described,  but  of  some- 
thing of  which  we  are  all  conscious  when  we  think  of  a 
real  teacher  and  his  work.  Grant  to  the  painter  his  pal- 
ette, his  brushes,  his  paints,  and  the  formal  rules  of  his 
art,  but,  with  only  these  things,  he  is  merely  a  mechanic. 
What  will  transform  this  mechanic  into  an  artist  ?    Fair 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  313 

ideals,  a  divine  sense  of  beauty,  and  a  conception  of  the 
possibilities  of  art.  It  is  only  under  the  domination  of 
this  spirit  that  the  artist  becomes  a  creator.  Now,  what 
I  wish  to  say  is,  that,  by  some  means,  a  spirit  akin  to  this 
must  be  infused  into  a  body  of  scholars,  in  order  that 
they  may  become  teachers.  There  must  be  some  ideal 
to  serve  as  the  goal  of  one's  effort ;  some  sense  of  the  sa- 
credness  and  grandeur  of  the  teaching  office,  and  a  con- 
ception of  what  is  possible  through  the  resources  of  the 
teacher's  art.  This  change  of  spirit  and  of  purpose  is  so 
marked  that,  sometimes,  in  speaking  of  it,  I  have  vent- 
ured to  call  it  conversion. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  I  have  seen  a  change  of 
countenance  pass  over  an  assembly  of  teachers  as  the 
speaker  succeeded  in  causing  his  hearers  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  real  nature  and  the  possibilities  of  the 
educating  art.  He  who  has  once  ascended  a  mountain, 
and  from  thence  has  surveyed  the  landscape  below,  is 
forever  after  a  changed  man.  In  some  real  way,  but,  of 
course,  in  a  way  that  cannot  be  described,  so  far  as  spir- 
it is  concerned,  there  has  been  a  transformation,  almost 
a  transfiguration.  So  teachers  may  be  made  to  survey 
their  work  from  the  summit  of  a  lofty  conception ;  and 
then,  forever  after,  this  work  will  be  done  in  a  new  spir- 
it, under  a  kind  of  inspiration. 

Matter,  method,  and  spirit,  these  are  the  three  things 
without  which  no  work  in  teaching,  even  of  tolerable  ex- 
cellence, can  be  done.  They  must  accompany  all  true 
teaching ;  and  while  they  form  the  minimum  of  one's 
professional  preparation,  they  are  the  permanent  endow- 
ments of  the  most  accomplished  teacher.  Other  elements 
may  be  added,  but  these  are  constants. 

2.  General  knowledge  must  be  regarded  by  the  teacher 

14 


314  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

as  instrumental  or  technical — it  is  necessary  material  that 
he  must  employ  in  the  practice  of  his  art ;  but  with  re- 
spect to  general  scholarship,  the  teacher  cannot  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  well-educated  man  or  woman  in 
general;  so  that  while  a  knowledge  of  subjects  is  to 
the  teacher  instrumental  knowledge,  it  is  not,  with 
strict  propriety,  professional  knowledge.  Perhaps  we 
must  call  it  quasi  professional ;  though,  considering  the 
practical  necessities  of  the  case,  instruction  in  subjects 
must  be  regarded  as  a  necessary  function  of  the  normal 
school.  What  is  that  knowledge,  then,  which  differenti- 
ates the  teacher  from  the  scholar — which  is,  with  strict 
propriety,  professional  knowledge  ?  Method,  as  described 
in  the  last  section,  is  certainly  entitled  to  this  designation, 
but  on  the  ground  that  it  is  peculiar  knowledge  that  no 
one  but  a  teacher  must  necessarily  have.  On  still  higher 
ground,  select  portions  of  psychology  are  entitled  to  this 
designation,  for  it  is  chiefly  this  knowledge  that  can  serve 
as  the  rational  basis  of  method.  As  Mr.  Bain  says,  the 
largest  chapter  in  the  science  of  education  is  psychologi- 
cal. Psychology,  in  fact,  stands  in  the  same  relation  to 
teaching  that  anatomy  does  to  medicine.  The  teacher's 
art  is  addressed  to  mind,  and  if  this  art  is  to  be  rational, 
if  it  is  to  be  administered  in  the  scientific  or  tlie  profes- 
sional spirit,  for  these  are  usually  identical,  the  teacher 
should  know  much  of  the  philosophy  of  spirit.  We  must 
hold,  I  think,  that  there  is  as  good  a  reason  why  a  pro- 
fessional teacher  should  have  an  articulate  knowledge  of 
psychology  as  there  is  why  a  physician  should  have  snch 

a  knowledge  of  physiology.    That  Professor  H ,  for 

example,  should  know  the  interdependence  of  sensation, 
perception,  imagination,  memory,  and  judgment,  is  just 
as  essential  as  that  Doctor  Y should  know  the  inter- 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  315 

dependence  of  lungs,  stomach,  liver,  and  brain.  There 
is  much  of  psychology  that  is  merely  cnrious  or  of  gen- 
eral interest,  having  but  very  remote  and  indirect  bear- 
ings upon  the  practice  of  the  teacher's  art;  but  there  is 
other  matter,  of  much  smaller  volume,  that  is  vitally  and 
constantly  related  to  every  process  of  instruction.  Some 
of  tliis  knowledge  should  certainly  be  communicated  to 
teachers  through  the  agency  of  the  institute.  I  hear  it 
said  on  all  hands  that  the  ordinary  teacher  is  not  capable 
of  these  high  attainments;  but  whoever  will  rightly  ap- 
portion this  knowledge,  and  deftly  present  it,  will  dis- 
cover a  growing  number  of  teachers  addicted  to  seri- 
ous thinking.  All  admit  that  teachers  ought  to  possess 
knowledge  of  this  sort,  but  many  are  so  sceptical  of  suc- 
cess in  trying  to  communicate  it  that  they  abandon  the 
project  as  hopeless.  But,  as  the  sage  of  the  Tribune  was 
wont  to  say,  "  the  only  way  to  resume  is  to  resume ;"  to 
create  an  appetite  for  this  kind  of  knowledge  we  must 
in  due  season  and  in  right  measure  allow  toothsome  mor- 
sels to  fall  in  the  way  of  those  who  have  an  awakened 
intellectual  appetite. 

Another  kind  of  knowledge,  even  more  distinctly  pro- 
fessional, because  falling  much  further  out  of  the  range 
and  the  needs  of  the  ordinary  student,  is  what  Mr.  Bain 
calls  "education  values."  What  is  the  practical  value, 
say,  of  arithmetic  ?  Is  this  value  of  the  primary  order, 
60  that  every  one  must  study  the  subject ;  or  is  it  of  sec- 
ondary value  chiefly,  so  that  the  knowledge  of  a  few  can 
be  sold  and  so  made  to  sufiice  for  the  needs  of  the  many  % 
As  a  discipline,  is  it  specific  in  its  effect,  i.  e.^  does  it  raise 
the  quality  of  some  special  mode  of  mental  action  ;  or  is 
it  tonic,  i.  e.,  does  it  minister  to  a  general  invigoration  of 
the  intellectual  system  ?    Such  questions  may  be  asked 


316  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

of  every  study ;  and  I  hold  that  it  is  as  reasonable  that 
professional  teachers  should  know  these  things  as  that 
physicians  should  know  the  therapeutical  value  of  calo- 
mel and  quinine.  At  least  one  distinction  should  be 
made  clear  to  all  who  teach,  that  between  the  practical 
value  of  a  subject,  and  its  value  for  discipline  or  culture. 
The  subordinate  distinctions  I  have  indicated  are  of  very 
great  value,  but  it  is  scarcely  reasonable  to  expect  that 
teachers  unaccustomed  to  severe  thinking  shall  under- 
stand them  sufficiently  well  to  make  a  sure  and  safe  use 
of  them.  The  general  spirit  of  the  truths  I  would  im- 
press in  what  has  preceded  may  be  expressed  in  brief,  as 
follows : 

Teachers  should  be  assisted  in  the  work  of  perfecting 
themselves  for  the  duties  of  their  office  by  being  stimu- 
lated to  self-activity  along  three  main  lines  of  study : 

(1)  Their  knowledge  of  subjects  should  be  gradually 
extended ;  arithmetic  should  lead  up  to  algebra  and  ge- 
ometry ;  geography  to  travels,  history,  and  political  econo- 
my ;  grammar  to  rhetoric  and  criticism  ;  Latin  to  French 
and  Italian,  etc. 

(2)  There  should  be  a  steady  advance  in  professional 
knowledge,  strictly  so-called.  In  addition  to  the  algebra, 
the  chemistry,  and  the  French  grammar,  there  should  be 
on  the  teacher's  study  table  a  representative  educational 
journal,  and  the  best  current  books  on  the  theory,  the 
history,  and  the  art  of  teaching. 

(3)  To  counteract  the  narrowing  tendencies  of  profes- 
sional study  and  duties,  it  is  necessary  that  the  teacher 
should  court  the  catholic  influences  of  general  literature ; 
and,  in  addition  to  the  books  first  suggested,  his  study 
table  should  be  graced  with  a  representative  literary 
magazine  like  the  Atlantic  or  Harper's,  and  with  an  oc- 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CHICLE.  317 

casional  volume  of  essays,  poetry,  or  fiction.  The  aim 
I  have  in  view  is  to  make  the  teacher  a  reader  and  a 
thinker;  to  liberalize  his  mind  with  various  knowledge; 
and  to  secure  to  him  some  measure  of  genuine  culture. 
Taking  the  teaching  class  as  a  whole,  I  do  not  know 
what  greater  good  can  be  done  to  it  than  to  inspire  it 
with  a  love  of  the  scholarly  vocation. 

In  what  has  now  been  said,  I  have  tried  to  express  my 
conception  of  the  aid  that  should  be  rendered  the  great 
mass  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  public-school  ser- 
vice. The  greater  number  of  these  have  received  no 
preparatory  training  of  the  professional  type ;  in  many 
cases  there  is  great  deficiency  in  general  scholarship ;  in 
only  a  few  cases,  comparatively,  is  there  a  confirmed  taste 
for  intellectual  pursuits ;  and  in  still  fewer  cases  is  there 
any  degree  of  that  real,  though  indefinable,  thing  wc  call 
culture.  This  work,  if  done  at  all,  or  at  least  if  done  di- 
rectly, surely,  and  methodically,  must  be  done,  in  part, 
through  the  agency  of  the  institute ;  and  we  must  now 
study  the  limitations  of  this  agency,  the  better  to  define 
its  special  aim  and  nietliod. 

3,  The  most  obvious  of  these  limitations  is  that  of 
time.  The  course  of  instruction  in  a  normal  school  cov- 
ers a  period  of  three  or  four  years ;  but  the  institute 
must  do  its  work  within  a  period  of  one,  two,  three,  or 
four  weeks.  The  customary  period  is  one  week,  or  five 
working  days.  From  this  circumstance  it  becomes  ap- 
parent at  once  that  a  choice  must  be  made  between  ex- 
tension and  depth.  If  much  is  undertaken  it  must  be 
done  superficially ;  or  if  thoroughness  is  tlie  rule,  the  at- 
tention must  be  limited  to  a  few  subjects.  Tiiis  limita- 
tion of  time  affects  the  method  of  the  institute  with  like 
precision.     If  class-work  be  the  rule,  then  the  subjects 


318  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

taught  will  be  few  and  the  progress  in  each  will  be  slow. 
If  instruction  be  given  by  lecture,  the  range  of  topics 
will  be  greater  and  progress  apparently  more  rapid ;  but 
the  intensive  effect  will  be  proportionately  light.  The 
whole  question  of  method  is  reduced  in  general  terms  to 
this  :  Shall  the  instructor  teach,  or  shall  lie  lecture  ? 
That  is,  shall  he  cause  his  pupils  to  know,  or  shall  he 
■mGre\y permit  them  to  know?  I  do  not  propose  to  Jin- 
swer  this  question  at  this  point.  Indeed,  it  cannot  be 
answered  till  other  conditions  have  been  taken  into  ac- 
count. 

Another  limitation  to  which  the  institute  is  subject  is 
the  unequal  proficiency  of  its  membership.  I  am  usu- 
ally forced  to  distinguish  three  classes  of  attendants: 
The  interested,  well-informed,  and  appreciative  few, 
who  can  interpret  and  appropriate  the  best  that  can  be 
said ;  the  attentive  and  willing,  but  comparatively  un- 
instructed  and  incapable  listener,  who,  at  best,  can  ap- 
propriate only  imperfectly,  and,  in  consequence,  is  al- 
ways on  the  verge  of  weariness  and  inattention ;  and, 
the  ignorant  and  the  indifferent,  who  hang  like  a  dead 
weight  on  the  spirit  of  the  instructor.  A  skilful  in- 
structor might  manage  each  of  these  three  classes  with 
success  if  it  could  be  isolated ;  but  to  instruct  them  si- 
multaneously, and  with  profit,  is  as  diflScult  a  task  as  can 
be  imagined. 

Now,  recalling  the  limitation  of  time,  it  must  be  evi- 
dent, I  think,  that  the  institute  cannot  undertake  the  in- 
struction of  teachers  in  subjects  —  it  cannot  give  them 
the  matter  of  instruction.  A  teacher  who  comes  to  the 
institute  ignorant  of  geography  cannot  possibly  learn 
enough  of  this  subject  within  four  weeks  to  satisfy  the 
requirements  of  an  examiner;  and  the  attempt  to  repair 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  819 

ignorance  in  three  or  four  subjects  witliin  this  period  is 
a  palpable  absurdity.  It  must  be  assumed,  I  think,  that 
the  members  of  an  institute  already  have  the  matter  of 
instruction,  and  what  they  most  need  in  this  line  is  a 
revival  of  their  knowledge.  A  rapid  review  of  the  sali- 
ent points  of  a  subject,  or  even  of  several  subjects,  is 
quite  possible  within  the  period  of  a  week ;  but  this  re- 
quires the  sharp  and  accurate  blows  of  an  accomplished 
workman.  The  faults  I  have  most  frequently  observed 
in  the  teaching  of  subjects  are  these:  An  aimless  talk- 
ing about  a  whole  subject,  vague  and  pointless,  instead 
of  an  incisive  treatment  of  a  few  essential  portions 
of  the  subject.  In  arithmetic,  for  example,  instead  of 
attempting  to  teach  the  whole  subject  of  Fractions,  it 
would  be  better  to  dwell  on  one  or  two  essential  matters, 
as  the  relation  of  numerator  to  denominator,  or  an  an- 
alysis of  the  process  of  dividing  one  fraction  by  another. 
And  in  Percentage,  if  the  teacher  can  be  made  to  com- 
prehend clearly  the  meaning  of  the  term  per  cent,  the 
whole  subject  will  become  luminous.  In  this  matter  of 
selection,  the  term  typical  knowledge  will  express  what 
I  mean.  Another  error  in  institute  instruction  is  to 
dwell  by  preference  on  what  is  merely  curious,  as  the 
casting  out  of  the  9's,  the  cause  of  the  gulf  stream,  hair- 
splitting in  grammatical  analysis,  minute  subdivisions  in 
elementary  sounds,  subtleties  in  pronunciation,  and  quib- 
bles in  general.  An  error  of  a  more  general  nature, 
an  error  that  is  almost  a  vice,  is  the  complaisant  in- 
dulging in  mere  platitudes,  in  anecdotes,  jests,  and 
pleasantries,  chiefly  as  a  convenient  means  of  consuming 
time  and  of  making  one's  self  popular.  An  anecdote 
that  is  a  pat  illustration  is  wholly  legitimate;  it  en- 
forces a  point  in  the  instruction,  and  it  puts  one's  audi- 


320  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

tory  in  good-liumor — two  excellent  things.  If  we  keep 
in  mind  the  obvious  fact  that  the  purpose  of  the  insti- 
tute is  to  instruct  rather  than  to  please,  but  that  we  may 
please  in  order  the  better  to  instruct,  we  shall  not  be 
likely  to  fall  into  errors  on  this  point. 

To  recapitulate:  the  utmost  tliat  an  institute  of  a 
week,  or  even  of  two  weeks,  can  undertake  to  do  in  sub- 
ject-matter, is  a  rapid  review  of  the  typical  or  more  im- 
portant topics.  In  a  session  of  four  or  six  weeks,  this 
review  can  be  more  extended  and  more  minute. 

Assuming,  as  I  think  we  must,  that  those  who  attend 
the  institute  have  a  considerable  mastery  of  subject-mat- 
ter, and  that  the  most  that  can  be  done  in  this  line  is  re- 
view and  revival,  we  find  that  the  more  distinctive  and 
characteristic  purpose  should  be  to  impress  upon  teacli- 
ers  the  general  nature  of  each  subject,  and  the  best 
methods  of  instructing  and  governing.  In  other  words, 
the  institute  is  true  to  its  proper  function  in  so  far  as  it 
is  instrumental  in  communicating  professional  knowl- 
edge, properly  so-called.  I  will  take  a  very  simple  case 
to  illustrate  what  I  mean :  Why  should  a  child  be 
taught  to  read  ?  In  teaching  primary  reading,  what  is 
the  problem  the  teacher  has  to  solve  ?  How  is  the  new 
(printed)  vocabulary  related  to  the  old  (spoken)  ?  What 
methods  have  been  used  to  teach  children  this  new  vo- 
cabulary ?  Which  method  shall  we  select,  and  on  what 
ground  shall  we  base  our  choice?  What  knowledge 
does  a  child  need  in  order  to  name  new  words  for  him- 
self? 

Systematic  instruction  in  the  line  of  these  questions 
seems  to  me  typical  of  the  best  work  that  an  institute 
can  do.  In  the  best  sense,  it  is  professional  work  in 
one  of  its  phases.    It  gives  teachers  a  knowledge  of  the 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  3i2l 

agencies  at  their  command,  and  so  makes  possible  tlie 
facile  and  versatile  use  of  these  instruments.  In  giv- 
ing instruction  of  this  kind,  I  think  the  following  order 
should  be  observed : 

The  purpose  for  which  the  subject  is  taught ;  its  nat- 
ure, as  shown  by  a  proximate  analysis ;  and  a  rational 
method  of  presenting  the  subject.  Instruction  in  geog- 
raphy, for  the  purposes  of  an  institute,  might  then  take 
this  form : 

(1)  The  purpose  of  geographical  study  is  to  produce 
in  the  pupil's  mind  a  vivid  conception  of  the  earth  as  the 
dwelling-place  of  man. 

(2)  The  unit  of  study  is  the  earth,  considered  chiefly 
with  reference  to  its  surface ;  this  unit  is  so  vast,  and 
the  most  of  its  surface  so  remote,  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  knowledge  required  must  be  gained  at  second 
hand,  through  books. 

(3)  In  accordance  with  the  general  psychological  law 
that  the  mind  works  downwards  from  the  whole  to  the 
parts,  and  from  the  vague  to  the  definite,  the  first  pres- 
entation should  be  the  artificial  globe  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  earth ;  and  when  the  grand  outline  has  been 
made  somewhat  articulate  by  subdivisions,  the  details 
should  be  supplied  from  the  text,  and  thus  a  definite 
whole  reconstructed  out  of  the  original  vague  whole. 

Of  course  this  is  only  suggestive.  A  different  phi- 
losophy would  involve  a  different  method  of  proce- 
dure. 

Another  branch  of  professional  knowledge,  of  capital 
importance  to  all  who  teach,  is  method  as  related  to 
school  organization  and  government.  In  fact,  in  the  or- 
der of  time,  this  knowledge  is  prior  to  that  just  dis- 
cussed ;  for  before  a  school  can  be  taught,  it  must  be  or- 


323  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

ganized,  and  when  organized,  it  must  be  governed  to 
save  it  from  disintegration.  "While  the  final  purpose  of 
the  school  is  instruction,  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the 
real  eflSciency  of  the  school  is  chiefly  related  to  the 
mode  and  degree  of  its  organization  and  discipline. 
Teachers  should  be  taught  to  aspire  to  a  high  type  of 
school  organization  and  government,  and  the  principles 
and  rules  of  this  art  should  be  expounded  with  all  possi- 
ble clearness.  In  a  thing  so  apparently  simple  as  the 
making  of  a  programme,  there  is  involved  a  large 
amount  of  pedagogical  knowledge.  To  do  such  a  piece 
of  work  intelligently  and  well  is  a  high  accomplish- 
ment, of  which  only  a  comparatively  few  are  capable. 
To  organize  and  grade  a  public  school,  and  to  provide  it 
with  a  suitable  course  of  study,  I  believe  to  be  one  of 
the  highest  feats  of  pedagogic  skill.  At  least  the  ele- 
ments of  these  arts  should  be  taught  in  the  institute; 
and  the  work  I  have  attempted  to  outline  in  this  section 
should  be  ranked  as  one  main  part  of  the  scheme  of  in- 
struction. When  it  can  be  done  under  proper  condi- 
tions, a  most  interesting  and  instructive  item  in  the  in- 
stitute programme  is  the  concrete  illustration  of  method 
by  means  of  an  actual  class  exercise,  as  in  reading,  spell- 
ing, or  number.  Elementary  exercises  are  the  best  for 
this  purpose,  as  children  are  least  likely  to  suffer  from 
self-consciousness.  It  is  unsafe,  however,  to  improvise  a 
class  for  this  purpose.  A  skilful  teacher  with  her  own 
class  can  alone  be  reasonably  sure  of  success. 

What  has  been  said  thus  far  relates  chiefly  to  subject- 
matter  and  to  method ;  and  the  belief  has  been  expressed 
that  the  limitation  of  time  restricts  the  instruction  given 
in  the  institute  by  preference  to  method.  Assuming 
that  teachers  have  some  competence  in  the  branches  to 


THE   INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  323 

be  taught,  our  efforts  should  be  directed  mainlj  to  lead- 
ing them  to  know  how  to  instruct,  liow  to  organize,  and 
how  to  govern. 

At  this  point  it  is  necessary  to  say  a  word  with  refer- 
ence to  what  we  may  call  the  subjective  element  of  pro- 
fessional knowledge ;  that  part  of  psychology  which  bears 
on  the  presentation  of  knowledge  and  its  elaboration  into 
faculty,  habit,  opinion,  common-sense.  He  must  be  a 
bold  man  who  would  dare  defy  public  opinion,  and  at- 
tempt to  bring  any  considerable  amount  of  this  instruc- 
tion into  an  institute.  But  I  venture  to  say  that  much 
of  this  grade  of  instruction  ought  to  be  given.  In  every 
institute  there  will  be  at  least  a  few  minds  of  the  better 
order,  that  find  delight  in  reflecting  on  the  rationale  of 
methods ;  and  there  are  many  more  that  might  be  easily 
provoked  to  this  kind  of  thinking.  For  these  reasons,  it 
seems  to  me  plain  that,  in  every  instance,  something  in 
this  line  of  instruction  should  be  done ;  just  a  little, 
probably,  but  still  something.  I  see  no  good  reason 
why  the  average  teacher  may  not  be  interested  in  know- 
ing the  general  mode  of  mental  growth,  and  the  parts 
that  are  played  in  this  process  by  sensation,  memory, 
imagination,  and  judgment.  The  office  of  language  in 
the  process  of  instruction  is,  certainly,  not  easy  to  explain 
or  to  comprehend-;  but  I  see  no  reason  why  at  least 
the  outlines  of  this  subject  might  not  be  brought  down 
to  the  understanding  of  the  average  thinker.  One  valid 
test  of  good  teaching  is  the  extent  to  which  it  induces  in 
pupils  the  ability  to  think  and  the  habit  of  thinking; 
and  I  sec  no  reason  why  the  instruction  given  in  an  in- 
stitute should  not  be  valued  by  the  same  standard. 

In  the  progress  of  my  discussion  thus  far,  I  have  made 
incidental  mention  of  several  topics  that  are  of  prime  im- 


824  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

portance  in  the  actual  maDagement  of  institutes.  These 
topics  will  now  be  considered  in  moderate  detail. 

1.  As  between  class  instruction  and  instruction  by 
lecture,  which  is  preferable  for  institute  use? 

Where  so  much  must  be  done  in  such  a  short  space  of 
time,  the  question  of  method  is  all-important.  The 
broad  distinction  between  lecturing  and  teaching  must 
be  kept  in  mind.  In  mere  lecturing  the  pupil  is  per- 
mitted to  know ;  he  has  an  opportunity  to  learn ;  he 
may  learn  if  he  will.  On  the  part  of  tlie  pupil,  the  lect- 
ure presupposes  a  mind  already  alert,  already  bent  on 
serious  acquisition  ;  or  its  purpose  may  be  merely  to 
awaken  and  stimulate  a  desire  to  know, — to  implant  a 
strong  motive  for  acquisition.  Class  instruction,  on  the 
contrary,  causes  a  pupil  to  know.  Here  the  teacher 
comes  into  close  relations  with  the  pupil,  and  puts  him 
under  obligations  to  know.  Tlie  actual  difference  is 
about  the  same  as  that  between  advising  and  command- 
ing. As  a  general  rule,  the  efficiency  of  instruction  by 
lecture  rises  in  proportion  to  the  growing  ability  and  in- 
terest of  the  learner ;  its  efficiency  is  greatest  where  there 
is  the  greatest  maturity  of  intellect  and  scholarship,  and 
least  where  the  degree  of  intellectual  awakening  is  low- 
est.* 

The  chief  circumstances  that  favor  the  adoption  of 
the  lecture  method  are  the  following :  The  need  of 
awakening  a  strong  interest  in  a  subject;  the  need  of 
teaching  the  outlines  of  a  subject  within  a  short  space 
of  time ;  and  the  need  of  teaching  matter  new  in  sub- 
stance or  in  form,  and  therefore  inaccessible  by  other 
means. 

*  On  this  general  subject  see  Porter's  "  The  American  College 
and  the  American  Public,"  p.  119. 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  825 

If  tliese  distinctions  are  well-founded,  I  think  it  fol- 
lows that,  in  a  session  of  one  week,  the  typical  mode  of 
institute  instruction  is  bj  lecture,  and  tliis  for  the  fol- 
lowing reasons :  Not  much  instruction  can  be  given  in 
subjects,  but  what  is  given  must  be  select  matter,  and 
must  be  presented  by  a  process  of  rapid  outlining ;  the 
typical  work  of  such  an  institute  must  be  instruction  in 
methods  and  principles,  and  matter  of  this  sort  is  inac- 
cessible save  through  oral  communication ;  in  all  insti- 
tute work,  an  object  of  first  importance  is  the  creation 
of  professional  enthusiasm  and  a  strong  desire  for  higher 
attainments.  For  these  ends  the  lecture  method  is  pre- 
eminently serviceable. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  that,  in  this  process  of 
instruction,  the  pupil  is  merely  a  passive  recipient.  lie 
may  be  this,  but  he  need  not  be.  In  general,  lecturera 
do  not  require  their  hearers  to  reproduce  the  substance 
of  what  has  been  communicated,  the  retention  and  as- 
similation of  the  subject-matter  being  left  to  voluntary 
choice;  but,  in  an  institute,  there  is  no  good  reason  why 
there  may  not  be  a  recitation  of  what  has  been  present- 
ed in  the  lecture.  As  a  means  towards  this  end,  I  be- 
lieve that  systematic  note-taking  is  essential.  I  know 
that  independent  note-taking  is  a  high  accomplishment, 
and  that  the  ordinary  attendants  at  an  institute  are  inca- 
pable of  it;  but  it  is  practicable  for  the  lecturer  to  dic- 
tate the  main  points  of  the  lesson,  and  to  require  the  ac- 
curate transference  of  these  to  the  note-books.  These 
summaries  will  allow  the  pupil  to  recall  the  oral  exposi- 
tions, and  will  serve  as  the  basis  for  the  desired  recita- 
tions. Witli  these  qualifications,  I  believe  the  lecture 
method  is  the  one  best  suited  to  an  institute  of  short  du- 
ration. 


326  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

In  a  session  of  two  weeks  considerable  instrnction  in 
subjects  may  be  given  in  a  modified  form  of  class-work. 
The  preparation  of  assigned  lessons  will  scarcely  be  prac- 
ticable, but  there  may  be  more  or  less  recitation  work  in 
the  sense  that  pupils  can  be  examined  on  set  topics,  and 
can  be  made  to  exhibit  tlieir  proficiency  by  doing  some 
actual  work,  as  parsing,  solving  examples,  and  demon- 
strating principles.  Where  the  institute  can  be  broken 
up  into  sections  of,  say,  twenty  members  each,  instruction 
may  be  made  individual  to  a  considerable  extent,  instead 
of  being  given  to  the  institute  in  bulk.  Where  instruc- 
tion is  given  to  the  collective  body,  there  is  such  a  divis- 
ion of  responsibility  that  inattention  is  always  imminent. 
In  a  small  number  the  fear  of  consequences  keeps  each 
mind  on  the  alert. 

The  most  satisfactory  institute  work  I  have  seen  done 
was  in  a  session  of  two  weeks,  where  the  conductor  had 
three  assistants.  The  first  hour  in  each  session  was  de- 
voted to  a  lecture  on  some  professional  subject  by  the 
conductor,  given  to  the  whole  body  of  teachers.  The 
institute  was  then  broken  up  into  three  sections,  and 
these  passed  in  succession  from  one  assistant  to  another, 
so  that,  besides  the  general  lesson,  each  member,  in  every 
session,  had  been  instructed  in  three  topics,  as  arithmetic, 
grammar,  and  geography.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  is 
very  near  the  ideal  mode  of  conducting  a  two  weeks' 
institute,  as  it  preserves  the  normal  proportion  between 
the  two  methods  of  instruction.  I  do  not  know  that  any 
essential  modification  would  be  needed  for  sessions  of 
three  or  four  weeks. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  a  serious  lim- 
itation upon  the  work  of  an  institute  is  the  heterogeneous 
character  of  its  membership  as  to  interest,  intent,  and 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  337 

ability ;  and  every  conductor  must  have  debated  the 
question,  whether  a  grading  of  tlie  institute  is  practi- 
cable. No  one  can  doubt  that  substantial  advantages 
would  come  from  a  sorting  of  teachers  on  the  basis  of 
ability,  and  from  the  opportunity  thus  given  of  making 
the  instruction  more  individual ;  nor  can  any  one  doubt 
that  such  a  classification  is  theoretically  possible.  The 
main  diflSculty  lies  in  the  cost  of  such  an  organization. 
In  general,  a  multiplication  of  grades  multiplies  the  teach- 
ing force,  and  hence  the  cost  of  instruction.  With  three 
grades  the  work  is  trebled,  and,  if  the  work  of  the  pres- 
ent teaching  force  is  not  also  to  be  trebled,  there  must  be 
three  times  the  number  of  instructors.  This  difficulty 
is  greatly  increased  on  the  supposition  that,  at  the  second 
session  of  the  institute,  three  grades  of  new-comers  are  to 
be  added  to  the  three  already  established.  Taking  into 
account  all  the  difficulties  in  the  case,  it  seems  to  me  that 
a  real  grading  of  the  institute  is  impracticable ;  and  that, 
for  the  present  at  least,  the  skill  of  the  conductor  must 
be  taxed  to  interest  and  instruct  a  heterogeneous  mem- 
bership,* The  greatest  difficulty  to  overcome  is  the  in- 
difference of  teachers ;  and  one  of  the  best  tests  of  the 
ability  of  an  institute  instructor  is  his  success  in  arousing 
an  early  interest  in  the  work  in  hand.  In  some  cases 
county  examiners  supply  a  motive  for  attending  the  in- 
stitute, but,  so  far  as  I  know,  there  is  not  as  yet  a  motive 
sufficient  to  make  teachers  take  an  active  interest  in  the 

*  When  the  teaching  force  permits  the  dividing  of  the  member- 
ship into  three  sections  there  may  be  a  modified  grading,  as  fol- 
lows :  form  one  section  out  of  the  young  and  inexperienced ;  an- 
other out  of  those  who  have  taught  for  a  limited  time;  and  place 
the  most  competent  in  the  third  section.  The  instructors  may  thus 
adapt  themselves  somewhat  to  the  needs  of  these  three  classes. 


328  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

instruction  that  is  offered.  If,  at  the  close  of  the 
session,  the  members  could  be  examined  on  certain 
portions  of  the  work  done,  and  some  tangible  credit 
could  be  awarded  for  their  proficiency,  one  of  the 
greatest  diflSculties  in  institute  management  would  be 
overcome. 

I  have  now  presented  the  main  elements  of  the  insti- 
tute problem  as  it  lies  in  my  own  mind,  and  my  discus- 
sion of  this  question  has  been  based  on  experience  rather 
than  upon  any  assumed  theory  of  what  ought  to  be  or 
might  be.  It  is  very  easy  to  describe  the  ideal  institute, 
where  everybody  shall  be  pleased  and  instructed ;  but 
whoever  knows  from  actual  experience  the  real  diflScul- 
ties of  this  work  will  speak  with  great  moderation  and 
with  many  reservations.  There  is  no  feat  in  teaching  so 
diflBcult  as  that  of  interesting  and  instructing  the  hetero- 
geneous membership  of  an  institute ;  and  he  who  does 
not  feel  the  need  of  revising  his  methods  after  each  at- 
tempt at  the  practical  solution  of  this  problem  has  not 
yet  learned  its  simplest  elements. 

All  who  are  engaged  in  this  variety  of  educational 
work  have  yet  much  to  learn  by  study,  by  experience 
and  conference ;  but  it  is  fair  to  remember  that  many  of 
the  imperfections  of  this  work  are  inherent  in  the  mate- 
rial with  which  we  have  to  do.  These  inherent  difficul- 
ties will  persist  in  spite  of  us ;  we  must  court  fresh  ac- 
cessions of  skill,  to  the  end  that  we  may  overcome  the 
obstacles  that  beset  our  progress;  but  if,  after  all  our 
forethought  and  effort,  the  results  are  disappointing,  we 
must  do  ourselves  the  justice  to  remember  that  we  are 
not  responsible  for  the  limitations  of  time,  for  inequali- 
ties of  membership,  or  for  original  ignorance  and  indif- 
ference. 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING   CIRCLE.  329 

The  following  recapitulation  will  close  this  part  of  the 
discussion : 

1.  The  institute  should  be  regarded  as  the  chief  agency 
now  at  our  command  for  communicating  some  measure 
of  professional  knowledge  and  some  degree  of  the  pro- 
fessional spirit  to  the  great  mass  of  teachers  who  have 
had  no  preparatory  training. 

2.  The  institute  should  supplement,  not  supersede,  the 
normal  school.  It  should  not  claim  to  give  even  the 
elements  of  academic  education,  or  to  communicate  in 
full  the  theory  and  the  art  of  teaching;  but  should  in- 
spire its  membership  w'ith  a  determination  to  gain  the 
helps  that  are  offered  by  larger  courses  of  instruction, 
or,  when  this  is  impossible,  to  pursue  a  systematic  course 
of  self-instruction  by  reading  and  study. 

3.  The  aim  of  the  institute  should  be  rather  to  com- 
municate the  best  methods  of  organizing,  governing,  and 
instructing,  than  to  teach  subject-matter;  and  the  in- 
struction in  subjects  should  be  mainly  in  the  line  of  re- 
view and  revival. 

4.  When  practicable,  instruction  should  be  made  in 
some  measure  individual  by  an  organization  by  sections, 
and  in  this  class  instruction  pupils  should  be  made  to 
take  some  active  part. 

5.  In  short  sessions,  instruction  by  lecture  and  note- 
taking  is  preferable ;  but  recitation  should  form  a  part 
of  every  exercise.  In  longer  sessions  class-work  should 
be  brought  into  greater  prominence. 

6.  The  best  work  of  the  institute  should  be  regarded 
as  the  creation  of  the  scholarly  and  the  professional 
spirit,  a  desire  to  reach  high  scholastic  attainments,  and 
an  ambition  to  attain  to  artistic  excellence  in  teaching. 

An  incidental  purpose  served  by  the  institute  is  too 


330  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

important  to  be  overlooked.  I  mean  the  wholesome  ef- 
fect which  it  may  have  on  tlie  communities  in  which  it 
is  held,  in  the  way  of  a  better  educational  sentiment 
among  the  people.  In  many  cases  a  school  of  a  high 
type  is  impossible  by  reason  of  the  backwardness  and 
inertia  of  public  opinion.  The  people  themselves  must 
be  educated  up  to  a  certain  point  before  an  enlightened 
and  skilful  teacher  can  do  his  best  work.  There  are 
numberless  instances  in  which  a  new  era  in  the  history 
of  a  school  has  dated  from  the  time  when  a  good  insti- 
tute excited  an  interest  in  better  methods,  and  gave  moral 
support  to  teachers  struggling  against  the  inertia  of  pub- 
lic opinion. 

This  tonic  effect  of  the  institute  is  produced  in  part 
tlirough  the  lectures  and  class-exercises  of  the  day  ses- 
sions ;  but  chiefly,  I  think,  through  the  evening  lectures 
delivered  by  persons  who  speak  with  some  degree  of  au- 
thority. Such  lectures,  to  be  of  real  service,  should  bear 
on  educational  themes,  and  should  be  of  a  character  to 
interest  a  popular  audience.  Tiiese  lectures  may  fail  of 
their  purpose  either  by  being  too  technical,  or  by  bearing 
on  themes  exclusively  literary,  scientific,  or  historical. 

Even  when  administered  under  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances the  institute  cannot  be  counted  on  to  produce 
on  the  teaching  class  what  may  be  called  a  constitutional 
effect.  A  few  minds  of  the  better  order  may  be  affected 
permanently  by  it ;  by  the  temporary  stimulus  they  may 
be  enlisted  in  a  systematic  course  of  improvement ;  but 
it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  greater  number  of  those  who 
attend  the  institute  speedily  return  to  their  former  state 
of  indifference  as  to  professional  improvement.  The 
popular  lecture  is  by  no  means  a  substitute  for  the  libra- 
rv  or  the  school.     It  is  invaluable  as  a  stimulus  to  read- 


THE   INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  331 

ing  and  study,  and  if  it  does  not  lead  to  this  result  it  is 
to  be  counted  only  as  a  pastime.  So  the  institute  is  a 
stimulus  which  ought  to  be  supplemented  by  some  means 
of  continuous  self-improvement.  Only  a  very  small  num- 
ber of  those  who  attend  the  institute  can  attend  the  nor- 
mal school,  the  college,  or  the  university ;  but  all  who 
will  may  pursue  a  systematic  course  of  reading  iu  the  line 
of  self -improvement.  This  supplementary  agency  is 
now  in  process  of  organization  under  the  general  name 
of  the  reading  circle.  The  purpose  of  this  new  organ- 
ization is  to  support  earnest  and  intelligent  teachers  in 
their  efforts  towards  self-improvement,  and  to  stimulate 
the  careless  and  unprogressive  to  a  diligent  use  of  their 
leisure  moments.  It  is  too  early  to  describe  the  reading 
circle  as  an  actual  fact,  but  it  is  permissible  to  discuss 
the  conditions  which  seem  essential  to  its  ultimate  suc- 
cess. 

1.  Teachers  need  to  be  told  in  definite  terras,  by  some 
authority  considered  competent,  both  the  quality  and  the 
quantity  of  work  that  can  reasonably  be  undertaken. 
Many  teachers  do  not  undertake  the  work  of  self-im- 
provement because  they  do  not  know  where  to  begin  and 
how  to  proceed,  and  this  degree  of  support  is  all  the  ex- 
ternal aid  they  need. 

2.  The  purpose  of  the  reading  circle  may  be  very 
easily  defeated  by  proposing  to  teachers  too  formidable 
a  task.  It  must  be  recollected  that  the  spare  time  of  the 
average  teacher  is  very  limited,  and  that  he  has  no  con- 
firmed intellectual  habits  that  make  study  easy  and 
agreeable. 

3.  As  intellectual  breadth  and  literary  culture  are 
among  the  most  precious  endowments  of  the  teacher,  it 
would  evidently  be  unwise  to  make  the  course  of  reading 


332  SCIENCE  OF  EDUCATION. 

wholly,  or  even  mainly,  professional.  If  it  were  neces- 
sary to  make  an  absolute  choice  between  a  course  of 
reading  in  general  literature  and  a  course  of  technical 
instruction,  I  think  preference  should  be  given  to  the 
former.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  such  a  choice, 
and  so  the  study  of  methods  and  doctrines  should  be  re- 
lieved and  brightened  by  readings  in  literature  and  his- 
tory. 

4.  What  Mr.  Bain  has  happily  called  *  "  intrinsic 
charm  "  cannot  be  relied  on,  in  most  cases,  as  a  suflBcient 
stimulus  to  sustained  effort.  For  the  most  part,  this  is 
an  emotion  which  follows  as  the  result  of  less  worthy 
modes  of  stimulation.  In  the  beginning,  the  staple  mo- 
tives must  be  the  hope  of  some  tangible  reward  and  the 
fear  of  some  impending  loss.  The  reward  hoped  for 
and  labored  for  may  very  properly  be  a  credit  on  the  ex- 
aminer's book  for  work  done  in  the  reading  circle ;  and 
the  propulsive  motive  may  be  a  reasonable  fear  that  un- 
willingness to  work  for  self-improvement  may  be  con- 
strued as  a  disqualification  for  the  teaching  service. 

5.  It  is  plain  that  the  authorized  examiners  should  be 
officially  associated  with  the  administration  of  the  read- 
ing circle,  since  they  alone  can  bring  the  two  motives 
noted  above  to  bear  on  the  teachers  within  their  juris- 
diction. It  may  safely  be  predicted  that  the  reading 
circle  will  prosper  where  examiners  are  thoroughly  in- 
terested in  the  progress  of  their  schools;  but  that  it  will 
languish  where  these  officials  are  indifferent  to  the  qual- 
ity of  the  teaching  service  within  their  jurisdiction. 

6.  To  make  credits  for  the  work  done  a  reliable  and 
tangible  factor  in  determining  a  teacher's  right  to  a 
license,  some  systematic  and  equitable  mode  of  examina- 

*  "  Education  as  a  Science,"  p.  28. 


THE  INSTITUTE  AND  THE  READING  CIRCLE.  333 

tion  must  be  devised.  All  examinations  for  a  license 
might  very  properly  be  made  to  bear  on  important  por- 
tions of  the  reading-circle  course ;  and  if  this  were  done, 
the  two  motives  already  mentioned  would  at  once  be 
brought  into  eflScient  play. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  STUDY  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  MICHIGAN. 

Requests  for  information,  that  are  addressed  to  me  from  time 
to  time,  induce  me  to  make  a  somewhat  detailed  statement  of 
the  work  attempted  to  be  done  in  the  University  of  Michigan  in 
the  study  of  education.  As  this  kind  of  university  work  is 
essentially  new  to  this  country,  whatever  may  have  been  done  or 
attempted  in  it,  in  any  one  institution,  becomes,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, a  matter  of  public  interest.  So  far  as  I  am  concerned,  my 
work,  both  in  plan  and  execution,  has  been  tentative.  Indeed, 
in  all  new  ventures,  where  precedent  and  tradition  fail,  the  most 
carefully  devised  plans  must  be  held  subject  to  correction  and 
revision  by  experience.  The  men  who  are  engaged  in  this  new 
variety  of  university  work  doubtless  owe  it  to  the  public  to  con- 
tribute to  the  body  of  recorded  experience,  to  the  end  that  each 
new  attempt  may  be  made  from  some  established  vantage- 
ground. 

The  movement  that  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  chair 
of  the  Science  and  the  Art  of  Teaching  in  the  University  of 
Michigan  had  been  contemplated  for  several  years  by  President 
Angell,  and  public  attention  had  been  explicitly  called  to  the 
need  of  such  instruction  in  several  of  his  annual  reports.  The 
introduction  of  such  a  subject  into  the  university  curriculum  was 
held  to  be  justified  by  a  state  of  facts  of  long  standing.  From 
the  earlier  days  of  the  University,  the  higher  and  more  responsi- 
ble places  in  the  public-school  service  of  the  state  had  been  held 
by  men  who  had  received  their  training  in  thb  institution ;  and 


336  APPENDIX. 

•with  the  progress  of  the  University  and  with  the  growing  impor- 
tance of  its  relations  to  the  high  schools,  this  means  of  recruit- 
ing the  higher  teaching  service  of  the  state  has  become  an  his- 
torical fact  of  no  little  significance.  The  report  of  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  for  1883  shows  that  there  were  at 
that  time  twenty-seven  public  schools,  each  employing  fifteen  or 
more  teachers.  Of  these  twenty-seven  schools,  sixteen  had  superin- 
tendents who  were  educated  in  the  University,  six  were  in  charge 
of  men  who  were  educated  in  schools  outside  of  the  state,  and  five 
were  supervised  by  graduates  of  the  State  Normal  School.  This 
statement  is  suflBciently  significant,  but  it  does  not  exhibit  the 
full  extent  to  which  the  University  has  become  the  source  from 
which  the  higher  teaching  force  of  the  state  is  recruited.  For 
example,  in  the  Detroit  high  school  there  are  seven  assistants 
who  were  educated  in  the  University,  and  this  case  is  typical  of 
the  state  of  affairs  in  other  first-class  high  schools.  Under  this 
condition  of  educational  affairs  the  logic  of  the  case  is  very  sim- 
ple and  very  conclusive.  "  The  function  of  the  university," 
says  Mr.  Fitch,  "  is  to  teach,  and  to  supply  the  world  with  its 
teachers."  In  fact,  the  University  of  Michigan  had  for  years 
been  performing  this  function,  but  in  an  informal,  unintentional 
way.  Why  not  give  the  undergraduate  who  purposes  to  teach 
the  opportunity  to  learn,  at  least,  the  theory  of  his  art,  in  a  more 
or  less  articulate  manner,  as  a  preparation  for  the  public-school 
service  ?  Why  not  teach  in  the  University  the  cardinal  doctrines 
of  education,  so  that  the  entire  public  -  school  system  of  the 
state  may  be  affected  through  a  process  of  downward  diffusion  ? 
Graduates  of  the  University  are  called  to  supervise  the  more  im- 
portant public  schools  of  the  state.  Why  should  they  not  have 
the  opportunity  to  learn  the  theory  of  school  supervision  ? 

From  another  point  of  view  the  importance  of  making  edu- 
cation a  university  study  is,  if  possible,  still  more  apparent. 
When  we  consider  that  education  is  one  of  the  most  compre- 
hensive of  subjects,  that  the  theme  has  been  enriched  by  the  re- 
flections of  the  wisest  and  best  of  all  times,  and  that  to  be  a 


APPENDIX.  337 

teacher  or  an  educator  in  some  degree  is  the  common  vocation 
of  all,  it  is  plain  that  the  study  of  education  has  a  pre-eminent 
claim  on  the  attention  of  the  general  student,  both  on  account 
of  its  value  for  guidance  and  as  a  means  of  liberal  training.  To 
the  student  who  purposes  to  teach,  this  subject  has  a  high 
professional  value,  and  to  the  student  in  pursuit  of  a  liberal 
education  it  is  of,  at  least,  co-ordinate  importance  with  many 
subjects  that  are  thought  requisite  for  the  attainment  of  a 
degree. 

Such  considerations  as  those  now  recited  appeared  valid  to 
the  Regents,  and  by  a  unanimous  vote  they  established  a  pro- 
fessorship of  the  Science  and  the  Art  of  Teaching,  and,  at  the 
opening  of  the  academic  year  1879-80, 1  undertook  the  duties  of 
this  new  chair — new  not  only  to  this  University,  but,  in  its  scope 
and  purpose,  new  to  the  universities  of  this  country.  There  had 
been  a  precedent  of  long  standing  in  Germany,  that  "  native 
land  of  pedagogy,"  as  a  French  author  says,  and  in  Scotch  uni- 
versities, those  of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow.*  In  this  country 
there  was  the  chair  of  Mental  and  Moral  Philosophy  and  Didac- 
tics in  the  University  of  Iowa,  and  a  normal  department  in  the 
University  of  Missouri.  Since  1879-80  such  chairs  have  been 
established  in  Johns  Hopkins  University,  in  Cornell  University, 
in  the  universities  of  Wisconsin  and  Kansas,  and  in  De  Pauw 
University. 

In  organizing  the  courses  of  instruction  the  general  aim  was 
to  offer  opportunities  for  the  study  of  education  in  its  three 
main  phases,  the  practical,  the  scientific,  and  the  historical.  It 
was  seen  from  the  start  that  one  difficulty  in  the  way  was  the 
feeling  that  the  subject  was  an  uninteresting  and  a  narrow  one 
— uninteresting,  because  it  was  hackneyed,  every  one  thinking 
that  he  had  more  or  less  competence  in  it ;  and  narrow,  because 
it  was  assumed  to  be  confined  to  the  routine  of  the  schoolroom. 

*  The  history  of  this  new  educational  movement  in  Scotland  may  be  read 
in  the  very  valuable  and  interesting  essay  by  David  Ross, "  Education  as  a 
University  Subject,"  Glasgow,  1883. 

15 


838  APPENDIX. 

It  was  felt  that  it  would  be  unwise,  on  the  start,  to  dwell  on  the 
scientific  aspects  of  the  educational  problem,  because  of  the  feel- 
ing that  teaching  was  only  an  art,  almost  a  handicraft,  without 
a  basis  in  the  philosophy  of  spirit.  Even  in  university  circles, 
where  teaching  should  be  a  fine  art,  drawing  its  highest  inspira- 
tion from  the  science  of  knowledge  and  the  science  of  mind, 
there  is  often  a  shallow  scepticism  as  to  the  possibility  and  even 
the  desirability  of  making  education  a  rational  art.  It  was  plain 
to  me  and  my  advisers  that  the  art  phase  of  the  subject  should 
be  presented  first;  but  with  such  constant  reference  to  principles 
and  doctrines  that  a  taste  might  be  gradually  formed  for  the 
more  fruitful  aspects  of  the  study — the  scientific  and  the  his- 
torical. 

It  ^as  never  the  intent  to  duplicate,  in  any  respect,  the  work 
of  the  State  Normal  School ;  for,  from  the  first,  its  field  of  opera- 
tions had  been  predetermined  by  the  limits  of  its  academic  course 
of  study.  It  is  a  school  of  secondary  instruction,  and  so  the 
scholarship  of  its  graduates  is  simply  on  a  par  with  the  scholar- 
ship that  is  attained  in  high  schools  of  the  first  class.  If  there 
is  any  well-established  principle  in  school  economy  it  is  this: 
the  scholarship  of  the  teacher  should  be  considerably  broader 
than  the  scholarship  of  his  most  advanced  pupils.  This  law  at 
once  determines,  on  a  priori  grounds,  that  status  of  normal 
schools  with  respect  to  the  supply  of  teachers,  and  the  histori- 
cal confirmation  of  this  law  is  seen  in  the  facts  above  recited, 
from  which  it  appears  that,  after  a  prosperous  career  of  more 
than  thirty  years,  there  were  but  five  schools  in  the  state  em- 
ploying fifteen  or  more  teachers  that  were  under  the  supervision 
of  graduates  from  the  State  Normal  School,  while  sixteen  such 
schools  were  supervised  by  men  who  had  their  training  in  this 
University.  It  is  thus  seen  that  the  upper  limit  of  what  we 
may  call  the  normal  field,  and  the  lower  limit  of  the  university 
field,  fall  somewhat  within  the  high-school  grade  of  the  public- 
school  system.  In  providing  for  the  professional  study  of  edu- 
cation in  the  University,  there  was  never  a  thought  of  making 


APPENDIX.  339 

the  slightest  encroachment  on  the  actual  and  historical  territory 
of  the  Normal  School ;  and  during  the  last  seven  years  there  has 
been  no  evidence  that  the  line  defining  the  two  fields  has  been 
sensibly  disturbed.  The  simple  outcome  of  the  new  movement 
in  the  University  has  been  this :  the  greater  number  of  the  men 
and  women  who  enter  the  public-school  service  from  the  Uni- 
versity have  made  some  degree  of  special  preparation  for  their 
duties ;  if  the  professional  instruction  they  have  received  had 
not  been  given  here,  it  would  not  have  been  gained  at  all.  By 
just  so  much  there  has  been  a  net  gain  to  the  state. 

If  the  establishment  of  a  course  in  the  study  of  education  in 
the  universities  shall  lead  to  a  clear  definition  of  the  prov- 
ince of  the  normal  school,  great  good  will  accrue  to  the  pub- 
lic-school service.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  doubted  that  in  time 
past  this  school  has  attempted  to  do  what,  in  the  very  nat- 
ure of  its  organization,  it  cannot  do,  and  by  so  much  has  neg- 
lected to  do  what  it  might  and  should  do.  The  impossible 
thing  it  has  presumed  to  undertake  is  to  educate  teachers  for 
the  highest  places  in  the  public-school  service,  for  positions 
where  the  first  need  is  a  liberal  education  and  a  comprehensive 
knowledge  of  the  educational  problem ;  and  the  possible  and 
proper  thing  it  has  left  in  some  neglect  is  the  education  of  teach- 
ers for  the  rural  schools  and  for  the  subordinate  places  in  graded 
schools. 

In  the  education  of  teachers,  then,  the  university  and  the  nor- 
mal school  have  independent  spheres  of  activity  ;  or,  if  there  is  any 
common  ground,  it  is  a  narrow  tract  within  the  high-school  grade 
that  has  always  been  common  ground  and  is  doubtless  destined 
always  to  remain  so.  So  long  as  both  schools  remain  true  to 
their  constitutional  functions,  there  can  be  no  valid  basis  for 
competition  or  rivalry.  In  their  academic  "work  the  respective 
graduates  of  these  institutions  are  separated  by  four  years  of 
scholarship.  In  what  intelligible  and  respectable  sense  can  a 
university  be  said  to  compete  with  a  secondary  school,  or  a 
secondary  school  with  a  university  ?    An  apology  might  be  de- 


340  APPENDIX, 

manded  for  dwelling  on  such  truisms,  Lad  not  some  recent  events 
shown  that  broad  distinctions  sometimes  escape  notice. 

It  was  not  expected  that  opportunities  could  be  afforded  for 
experimental  or  practice  work  by  the  students  who  might  elect 
the  courses  in  Teaching.  It  was  not  even  desired.  AYhcn  I  per- 
mit myself  to  do  my  own  thinking,  I  feel  forced  to  regard  the 
popular  appreciation  of  practice-schools  as  an  illusion ;  though, 
when  I  reflect  on  the  fact  of  this  general  appreciation,  I  conclude, 
for  the  moment,  that  I  must  be  in  error.  Considering  the  par- 
ticular educational  problem  I  have  been  set  to  solve,  I  could  not 
well  have  a  practice  school  if  I  would ;  and  from  all  the  light 
that  comes  to  me  from  observation  and  reflection  I  would  not 
have  such  an  adjunct  to  my  work  if  I  could.  My  main  reasons 
for  this  conclusion  have  been  given  in  a  previous  chapter,* 
and  need  not  be  restated  here.  This  popular  illusion,  as  I 
liave  ventured  to  call  it,  has  been  begotten  of  false  analogies. 
Of  the  two  great  categories  of  employments,  the  manual  and 
the  mental,  teaching  falls  clearly  within  the  second ;  and  the 
art  of  teaching  is  distinguished  from  most  employments  of  its 
class  by  the  circumstance  that  in  it  there  is  a  maximum  of  the 
mental  and  a  minimum  of  the  manual.  In  the  learning  of 
every  art,  knowing  precedes  doing ;  and  in  a  mere  manual  art, 
the  major  part  of  the  learning  process  must  consist  in  making 
experiments  on  brute  matter  that  will  not  resent  clumsy  manip- 
ulation ;  but  in  an  art  like  teaching  the  major  part  of  the  learn- 
ing process  is  mental,  and  almost  the  whole  preparation  consists 
in  forming  clear  conceptions  of  the  processes  that  constitute  the 
art.  The  forming  of  these  conceptions  I  hold  to  be  the  almost 
exclusive  aim  of  the  strictly  professional  part  of  normal  instruc- 
tion, and  for  this  purpose  there  is  no  need  of  a  school  of  chil- 
dren on  whom  experiments  arc  to  be  wrought  by  apprentice 
teachers. 

Another  preliminary  must  be  added ;  there  is  no  *'  normal 
department"  in  the  University  of  Michigan,  but  instruction  in 
•  "  The  Normal-School  Problem,"  Chapter  XVI. 


APPENDIX.  841 

teaching  is  administered  just  as  all  other  instruction  is,  save  that 
it  is  all  elective,  none  being  necessary  for  graduation,  but  all 
counting  towards  the  attainment  of  a  degree.  In  fact,  it  is  only 
through  the  elective  system  that  it  seems  possible  to  restore  to 
universities  their  historic  function  of  supplying  the  world  with 
its  teachers.* 

The  unorganized  state  of  educational  science  should  be  noted 
as  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  those  who  are  charged  with 
this  kind  of  university  work.  The  professor  of  geology  would 
think  his  task  a  very  serious  and  difficult  one  if  his  science  were 
still  a  rudis  indigestaque  moles,  if  he  were  obliged  to  draw  his 
materials  in  fragments  from  miscellaneous  books  and  periodical 
literature,  and  then  tentatively  to  formulate  his  knowledge  pari 
passu  with  his  teaching.  This  is  a  faint  illustration  of  the 
actual  state  of  educational  science  and  of  the  actual  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  those  who  are  attempting  to  expound  it.  For  a 
long  time  to  come  the  greater  labor  of  those  who  are  giving  uni- 
versity instruction  in  education  will  consist  in  the  work  of  col- 
lating and  formulating.  That  there  is  a  science  of  education  in 
posse  no  thinker  doubts,  and  that  there  is  abundant  material 
ready  to  be  organized  by  the  educational  thinker  is  quite  as  ap- 
parent ;  but  that  there  is  such  a  compact  body  of  educational 
doctrine  already  formulated,  as  easy  and  pleasant  teaching  re- 
quires, no  one  will  assert. 

With  this  statement  of  the  general  conditions  under  which 
my  work  was  undertaken,  I  turn  to  give  an  account  of  the 
courses  of  instruction  that  have  been  offered,  and  of  results  in 
the  way  of  attendance. 

For  the  years  1879-80  and  1880-81  two  courses  were  offered, 
as  follows : 

FIRST    SEMESTER. 

1.  Practical.  Embracing  school  supervision,  grading,  courses 
of  study,  examinations,  the  art  of  instructing  and  governing, 
school  architecture,  school  hygiene,  school  law,  etc. 

*  See  "  EJucatioa  as  a  University  Study,"  Chapter  XV. 


342  APPENDIX. 

SECOND    SEMESTER. 

2.  Historical,  Philosophical,  and  Critical.  Embracing  his- 
tory of  education,  the  comparison  and  criticism  of  the  systems 
in  different  countries,  the  outlines  of  educational  science,  the 
science  of  teaching,  and  a  critical  discussion  of  theories  and 
methods. 

In  each  of  these  courses  there  were  two  exercises  per  week 
during  the  year  1879-80,  and  four  exercises  per  week  during 
the  year  1880-81.  The  basis  of  work  in  Course  1  was  my 
"  Chapters  on  School  Supervision,"  the  text  being  supplemented 
by  lectures  introducing  the  additional  topics.  As  I  had  antici- 
pated, I  found  that  I  had  two  quite  distinct  classes  of  students, 
some  who  proposed  to  become  superintendents  and  principals  of 
schools,  and  others  who  were  chiefly  interested  in  class  work. 
At  the  end  of  the  second  year  the  instruction  in  general  school 
management  was  set  off  by  itself,  constituting  Course  3,  with 
the  text  just  named.  After  this  division.  Course  1  was  devo- 
ted to  instruction  in  ordinary  schoolroom  work,  on  the  basis  of 
Fitch's  "Lectures  on  Teaching."  The  number  of  students 
electing  Course  1  in  1879-80  was  thirty-two,  and  the  first  trial 
of  the  "  new  departure  "  was  fairly  successful. 

Course  2,  as  described  above,  was  given  for  the  first  time  by 
lecture,  but  owing  to  my  unfamiliarity  with  this  mode  of  in- 
struction, to  the  unorganized  state  of  the  science  I  attempted  to 
teach,  and  somewhat  to  the  assumed  unreality  and  inutility  of 
the  science  of  education,  the  result  was  unsatisfactory  to  myself, 
and,  I  doubt  not,  to  my  pupils.  In  giving  the  course  the  second 
time  I  sought  to  avoid  these  difficulties  by  using  Bain's  "  Edu- 
cation as  a  Science  "  as  the  basis  of  my  instruction.  I  found  a 
great  gain  in  using  a  printed  text,  and  even  more  in  finding  a 
sanction  for  my  theme  in  the  name  of  such  an  eminent  writer. 
There  was  a  drawback,  however,  in  the  extreme  abstruseness  of 
the  treatment  and  in  the  limitation  on  the  number  and  kind  of 
topics  I  wished  to  present.     This  text  was  used  for  two  years, 


APPENDIX.  843 

but  in  the  fourth  year  it  was  superseded  by  my  "Outlines  of 
Educational  Doctrine,"  which  I  had  written  for  this  purpose. 

With  a  view  to  giving  a  fuller  opportunity  for  discussing 
some  of  the  larger  questions  in  the  science  of  education,  Course 
4  was  organized  in  1880-81.  In  this  course  for  1883-84,  the 
time  was  devoted  to  a  critical  study  of  Spencer's  "  Education  ;" 
a  study  of  Rousseau's  "  Emile "  was  made  in  the  course  for 
1884-85  ;  and  a  study  of  Laurie's  "  Life  of  Comenius"  is  now 
in  progress.  A  little  time  was  given  to  the  history  of  education 
in  connection  with  Course  2  in  1880-81,  by  means  of  a  reprint 
that  I  had  caused  to  be  made  of  the  article  "  Education  "  in  the 
ninth  edition  of  the  "Eiicyclopaidia  Britannica."  In  1882-83, 
Course  5  was  organized  for  the  study  of  the  history  of  educa- 
tion, and  for  three  years  instruction  was  given  by  lecture.  Up 
to  the  present  time.  Courses  3,  4,  and  5  have  required  but  two 
hours  per  week  of  recitation  work,  but  for  the  future  they  will 
be  three-hour  courses.  For  the  year  1885-86  a  new  course,  6, 
was  offered,  on  the  comparative  study  of  educational  systems, 
and  Course  5  was  continued  for  the  second  semester.  The 
scheme  of  instruction,  then,  as  now  organized,  stands  as  follows : 

1.  Practical.  The  art  of  teaching  and  governing;  methods 
of  instruction  and  general  schoolroom  practice  ;  school  hygiene ; 
school  law.  Recitations  and  lectures.  Text -book:  Fitch's 
"  Lectures  on  Teaching."     Four-ffths  Course. 

2.  Theoretical  and  Critical.  Recitations  and  lectures. 
Text-book :  "  Outlines  of  Educational  Doctrine."  Four-ffths 
Course. 

3.  School  Supervision.  Embracing  general  school  manage- 
ment; the  art  of  grading  and  arranging  courses  of  study;  the 
conduct  of  institutes,  etc.  Recitations  and  lectures.  Text-book : 
"  Chapters  on  School  Supervision."     Thrce-ffths  Course. 

4.  Seminary.  For  the  study  and  discussion  of  special  topics 
in  the  history  and  philosophy  of  education.  Three -fifths 
Course. 

5.  The  History  of  Education.     (First  Semester :  Ancient 


344 


APPENDIX. 


and  Middle  Age.)    Text-book :  "  Compayre's  "  History  of  Peda- 
gogy."    Three-fifths  Course. 

6.  The  Comparative  Study  of  Educatiokal  Systems. 
Lectures.     Twofifths  Course. 

7.  The  History  of  Education.  (Second  Semester:  Mod- 
ern.) Text-book :  Compayre's  "  History  of  Pedagogy."  Three- 
fifths  Course. 

A  prescribed  course  of  reading  is  pursued  in  connection  ■with 
Courses  1  and  2.  Either  Course  1  or  Course  2  is  requisite  to 
obtain  a  Teacher's  Diploma. 

The  extent  to  which  these  courses  of  study  have  been  at- 
tended may  be  seen  from  the  following  tabular  statement : 


'79-80. 

'80-81. 

'81-82. 

'82-a3. 

'83-84. 

'84-85. 

'86-86. 

No.  of  Courses  oflFcred 

Students  in  Practical  Courses. . 
Students  in  Theoretical  Courses 
Students  in  Historical  Course.. 

2 

2 

4 

5 

5 

5 

7 

32 
65 

41 

52 

50 
21 

48 

61 

4 

44 

59 

9 

40 
59 
15 

74 

70 
36 

Totals 

97 
72 

93 
71 

71 
51 

113 

71 

112 

78 

114 
81 

180 
117 

Totals,  less  Duplicates. . . 

As  yet,  no  required  sequence  in  the  courses  has  been  established. 
In  the  case  of  students  of  the  university  grade,  I  do  not  think 
it  material  whether  Course  1  or  Course  2  have  precedence,  pro- 
vided both  are  finally  taken  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  altogether  best 
that  Course  2  should  precede  Course  5,  for  I  cannot  see  how  the 
facts  of  experience  can  be  interpreted  without  some  knowledge 
of  fundamental  doctrines. 

As  a  general  rule  this  work  is  elected  by  students  in  the  later 
part  of  their  course,  and  many  who  take  up  the  study  of  educa- 
tional doctrines  have  previously  had  a  training  in  logic  and 
psychology.  Of  the  two  hundred  students  who  received  de- 
grees in  the  literary  department  during  the  years  1883  and 
1884,  eighty-three  had  taken  one  or  more  of  the  courses  abovo 
described. 

For  several  years  the  University  has  granted,  to  students  who 


APPENDIX.  345 

proposed  to  teach,  a  special  certificate  known  as  tlie  "  Teacher's 
Diploma,"  on  the  following  conditions: 

The  Teacher's  Diploma  will  be  given  to  resident  graduates 
and  to  the  students  of  the  University  at  the  time  of  receiving  a 
bachelor's  or  a  master's  degree,  provided  the  candidate  has  com- 
pleted one  of  the  courses  of  study  offered  by  the  Professor  of 
the  Science  and  the  Art  of  Teaching,  and  also,  at  least  one  of 
the  Teachers'  Courses  offered  by  other  professors,  and  by  special 
examination  has  shown  such  marked  proficiency  in  the  course 
chosen  as  qualifies  him  to  give  instruction. 

The  "  Teachers'  Courses,"  above  referred  to,  are  courses  of- 
fered by  professors  for  the  express  purpose  of  teaching  students 
how  their  special  subjects  are  best  taught.  During  the  year 
1884-85  such  Teachers'  Courses  were  given  in  Greek,  Latin, 
French,  and  Physics. 

For  some  years  it  has  been  felt  that  the  Teacher's  Diploma 
granted  by  the  University  on  such  hard  conditions  should,  on 
the  score  of  simple  equity,  be  made  the  legal  equivalent  of  the 
Normal-School  Diploma;  and  a  bill  to  this  effect  was  presented 
to  the  legislature  of  1884-85.  The  following  statements  ex- 
hibit the  grounds  on  which  this  legislation  was  asked  for : 

1.  The  Normal-School  Diploma  is  given  to  students  who  com- 
plete a  course  of  study  suflBcient  to  admit  them  to  the  University ; 
who  have  received  a  stated  amount  of  professional  instruction 
in  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching ;  and  have  done  certain  prac- 
tice work  in  the  experimental  school.  This  diploma  entitles  the 
holder  to  a  life  license  to  teach. 

2.  The  Teacher's  Diploma  from  the  University  is  given  only  to 
students  who  have  taken  a  bachelor's  degree,  t.  e.,  have  added  four 
years  of  scholarship  to  that  which  is  required  of  a  normal-school 
graduate ;  who  have  pursued  at  least  one  of  the  Teachers'  Courses 
offered  by  the  University  in  which  pupils  do  practice  work ;  and 
have  completed  one  or  more  courses  of  professional  instruction 
in  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching.  At  the  present  time  this  di- 
ploma has  no  legal  value  whatever. 


34G  APPENDIX. 

3.  As  between  the  holder  of  a  Normal-School  Diploma  and  tho 
holder  of  a  Teacher's  Diploma  from  the  University,  with  respect 
to  fitness  for  teaching,  the  case  stands  thus:  The  amount  of 
professional  instruction  in  the  theory  and  art  of  teaching  is 
essentially  the  same  in  both  cases ;  the  teacher  from  the  Uni- 
versity has  four  years  more  of  scholarship  than  the  teacher  from 
the  Normal  School,  but  lacks  a  part  of  the  practice  work  in  the 
experimental  school.  The  professional  instruction  being  the 
same  in  both  cases,  are  not  four  years  of  scholarship  a  fair 
equivalent  for  a  few  weeks'  practice  work?  Should  not  both 
teachers  stand  on  an  equal  footing  before  the  law  ? 

4.  By  the  offer  of  a  life  license  to  teach,  the  state  aims  to 
draw  into  the  public-school  service  young  men  and  women  who 
have  completed  a  course  of  secondary  instruction.  Should  not 
at  least  the  same  inducement  be  held  out  to  young  men  and 
women  who  have  completed  a  university  course  of  study  ? 

Through  opposition  coming  from  the  Normal  School  this  bill 
was  defeated. 

The  main  points  involved  in  the  theme  of  this  discussion  may 
be  summarized  as  follows : 

1.  An  historical  function  of  the  university  is  to  educate  teach- 
ers; and  the  higher  places  in  the  teaching  service  must  be  re- 
cruited from  this  source. 

2.  For  the  purposes  of  the  general  student  the  study  of  edu- 
cation is  of  at  least  co-ordinate  value  with  many  subjects  that 
have  long  had  a  place  in  the  university  curriculum. 

3.  Teaching  being  almost  purely  a  mental  art,  the  technical 
part  of  a  teacher's  education  should  consist  of  definite  concep- 
tions of  the  ends  to  be  reached,  of  the  means  most  fit  to  be  em- 
ployed, and  of  the  principles  involved  in  the  use  of  these 
means. 

4.  A  comprehensive  knowledge  of  education  requires  that  it 
should  be  studied  in  its  three  main  phases,  the  practical,  the 
theoretical,  and  the  historical.  The  phases  that  are  the  most 
proper  for  university  study  are  the  theoretical  and  the  historical. 


APPENDIX.  347 

5.  An  important  function  of  professorships  of  education  in 
universities  is  the  investigation  and  formulation  of  principles 
and  doctrines,  to  the  end  that  a  science  of  education  may  be 
finally  constructed. 

6.  The  other  principal  function  of  such  professorships  is 
the  dissemination  of  cardinal  educational  doctrines.  The  neces- 
sary course  of  this  dissemination  is  by  a  process  of  downward 
diffusion  from  the  university  to  the  secondary  schools,  and  from 
these  to  the  elementary  schools.* 

7.  In  the  form  of  a  life  license  to  teach,  the  state  offers  a 
reward  to  young  men  and  women  to  complete  a  course  of  sec- 
ondary instruction ;  much  more  ought  the  state  to  offer  such  a 
reward  to  men  and  women  to  complete  a  university  course  of 
training  as  a  preparation  to  the  public-school  service. 

*  "  Le  progres  se  propage  de  haut  en  bas,  et  cela  jusqu'aux  derniers  lim- 
ites,  car  la  science  ne  remonte  jamais." — Boussingault. 


INDEX. 


Abstract,  the,  when  the  child  can  comprehend,  79;  "why  difficult  to 

interpret,  80. 
Academic  instruction,  an  element  in  normal-school  work,  298. 
Accumulation,  distinguished  from  organization,  74. 
Acquirement  has  two  values,  41,  42. 
Agricultural  college,  made  popular,  248. 
Analysis,  effect  on  culture,  59,  84,  294;  and  synthesis,  76. 
Apprehension  and  comprehension,  59. 
Aristotle,  quoted,  24;  as  authority  on  science,  43;  on  peace,  104;  his 

use  of  the  term  "Nature,"  142;  his  sanction  of  slavery,  143;  his 

condemuation  of  usury,  143;  his  doctrine  of  the  mean,  183;  on 

political  education,  195. 
Arithmetic,  made  compulsory  by  Plato,  81 ;  its  value,  62. 
Arnold,  Matthew,  his  definition  of  education,  185. 
Ars  Vivendi,  60. 

Art,  contrasted  with  "  Nature,"  150. 
Astronomy,  its  value,  59. 
Authority,  dependence  on,  43;  in  education,  187, 188. 

"  Bachelor,"  its  meaning,  259. 

Bacon,  quoted,  128. 

Bain,  Alexander,  his  "Education  as  a  Science,"  3;  on  education 

values,  37;  on  the  culture  value  of  subjects,  49;  on  the  science  of 

education,  123. 
Bentham,  on  the  term  "  Nature,"  189. 
Bias,  quoted,  128. 

Biber,  Dr.,  quoted  on  Pestalozzi's  school,  238. 
Bible,  the,  its  use  in  school,  210,  211 ;  in  Cincinnati,  211, 214. 
Bonnal,  the  type  of  villages  redeemed  by  a  wise  teacher,  250. 
Books,  their  office,  29,  98, 189. 
Borrowed  interest,  as  a  motive,  85. 
Bushman,  42,  44. 

Capitalization,  possible  only  to  human  beings,  154. 
Caste,  just  and  unjust,  225. 


850  INDEX. 

Champollion,  171. 

Chemistry,  its  value,  GO. 

Child  mind,  how  it  differs  from  the  adult  mind,  19;  new  conception 
of,  120. 

Chinese,  conservatism  of,  194. 

Church,  the,  the  mother  of  the  school,  160;  and  school,  192, 199;  an- 
cient domination  of,  202. 

Citizenship,  education  for,  195. 

Classics,  easy  to  decry,  175;  must  be  taught  for  their  literature,  176. 

Cocker,  Dr.  B.  F.,  on  law  and  lawyers,  224, 

Comenius,  his  use  of  the  term  "Nature,"  140;  his  love  for  the  peo- 
ple, 237. 

"  Commencement  Day,"  its  signification,  259. 

Compayre,  G.,  quoted  on  moral  training,  68;  on  the  improbability  of 
new  discoveries  in  education,  110. 

Competition,  just  and  unjust,  225. 

Concrete  and  abstract,  doctrine  of,  76-79,  80. 

Condillac,  on  genesis  of  knowledge,  28,  87. 

Congregations,  religious,  206. 

Conservation,  in  education,  23. 

Contemplative  knowledge,  08. 

Conversion,  intellectual,  313. 

Cooley,T.  M.,  on  the  neutrality  of  the  American  public  school,  213, 214. 

Counting,  its  nature,  80. 

Cousin,  V. ,  on  the  law  of  progress,  88. 

Culture,  nature  of,  24,  58,67;  subjects  that  yield,  68;  test  of,  178;  essen- 
tial to  teaching  power,  288,  289;  Plato's  conception  of,  289;  its 
relation  to  the  useful,  293,  294;  effect  of  analysis  on,  294. 

Deflnitude,  the  final  term  of  cognition,  169. 

Degerando,  quoted,  on  the  danger  of  generalizing,  173, 

Dickinson,  J.  W.,  on  the  use  of  books,  99. 

Disagreeable  studies,  28. 

Disciplinary  values,  specific  and  tonic,  57,  58. 

Dissection,  effect  on  culture,  59. 

Distaste  for  study,  what  it  indicates,  72. 

Division  of  labor,  applied  to  learning,  51,  202,  203. 

"Doctor,"  its  meaning,  259. 

Doing  and  knowing,  128, 164. 

"Education," Mr.  Spencer's,  one  fallacy  in,  56. 

Education,  science  of,  4,  7  et  seq.;  its  nature,  14, 126;  its  material, 
original  and  derived,  17;  a  culture  subject,  60;  Mr.  Bain  quoted, 
123;  problems  in,  23, 126;  different  conceptions  of,  14;  profes- 
sional and  technical,  24;  as  a  process  of  rediscovery,  28;  new  dis- 
coveries not  probable,  110,  118,  119,  198;  purpose  defined,  114; 


INDEX.  351 

different  phases  of  the  problem,  116-118;  different  types,  119; 
its  purpose  defined  by  M.  Arnold,  185;  the  two  currents  in,  186; 
the  old  dominated  by  authority,  187;  ancient,  193;  a  function  of 
the  state,212;  dangers  in  its  management  by  the  literary  class,  246; 
the  higher  should  be  brought  nearer  the  people,  246, 247 ;  university 
study  of,  257,  335;  professorships  of,  264r-267,  337;  conditions  of 
success  in,  277;  practice  work,  277,  278. 

Education  values,  16,  26,  230,  315;  discussed,  31-68;  the  broadest  dis- 
tinction, 40,  41;  disciplinary  and  practical,  the  same,  41,  42;  not 
the  same,  47-50,  63;  practical  values,  direct  and  indirect,  51,  52; 
disciplinary  values,  specific  and  tonic,  57;  analytical  table  of,  64, 
C5;  standards  for  marking,  64;  rules  for  marking,  64,  65;  further 
views  on  culture  values,  66;  final  classification,  67. 

Educational  hobbies,  269. 

Educational  progress,  mode  of,  102;  conservative,  104. 

Educational  theory,  not  dangerous,  127. 

Educators,  two  schools  of,  103, 104;  due  to  differences  in  mental  con- 
stitution, 105. 

Elaboration,  mental,  69;  the  instrument  automatic,  70;  first  analysis, 
then  synthesis,  76. 

^mile,  the,  236, 

English  public  schools,  266. 

Enthusiasm,  blind.  111,  112.  • 

Enthusiasts,  not  safe  guides,  112, 113. 

Ephesians,  quoted,  22. 

Euthydemus,  anecdote  of,  8. 

Examinations,  fault  in,  254. 

Examiner,  a  considerate,  251, 253. 

Experience,  vicarious,  154. 

Experiment,  in  education,  127. 

Extremes,  law  of,  22,  183. 

Extremists,  how  they  are  to  be  interpreted,  113. 

Farrar,  ¥.  W.,  on  Persian  education,  133. 

Feeling  and  thinking,  83. 

Fetich  worship,  175. 

Fitch,  on  forgotten  knowledge,  71 ;  on  teaching  as  a  profession,  218; 

function  of  universities,  261,  336;  on  practice  teaching,  295. 
Fitness  for  teaching,  different  conceptions  of,  8,  252-254. 
"Follow  nature," in  what  sense  intelligible,  155. 
Forgotten  knowledge,  use  of,  71, 177. 
Formalism,  in  teaching,  247. 
Formation  and  information,  134. 
Froebel,  his  use  of  the  term  "Nature,"  141. 

Generalizations,  not  harder  to  interpret  than  concrete  phenomena,  107. 


352  INDEX. 

"  Genesis  of  knowledge  in  the  race,"  109, 188, 

Geography,  its  value,  59. 

Geology,  its  value,  59. 

Gillis,  John,  on  Aristotle's  method,  143. 

Gladstone,  his  greatness,  244. 

Growth,  three  orders  of,  4;  development,  74;  doctrine  of,  118. 

Habit,  opposed  to  growth,  295. 

Hamilton,  Sir  Wm.,  quoted  37;  his  pamphlet  on  mathematics,  34;  on 
universities,  259,  260. 

Hand  and  head,  219. 

Helvetius,  quoted  on  modest  personal  estimate,  292. 

Herring,  fecundity  of,  44. 

High  schools,  courses  in,  186. 

History,  its  value,  61;  Mr.  Spencer's  estimate  of,  63;  of  education,  its 
effect,  128. 

History  of  education,  its  lessons,  180-198;  included  in  the  course  of 
the  early  normal  school,  180;  is  a  culture  subject,  180,  181;  re- 
veals the  teacher's  professional  ancestry,  181 ;  its  value  for  guid- 
ance, 182;  has  never  held  its  proper  place  in  normal  schools,  183. 

"Holy  Roman  Empire,"  165. 

Human  destiny,  Mr.  Spencer's  conception  of,  45;  another,  46. 

Human  nature,  upward  tendency  of,  110. 

Huxley,  on  clearness  of  statement,  137. 

Idea  versus  sensation,  68. 

Ideals,  not  dangerous  to  practical  men,  285. 

Ideas  and  ideals,  157;  plastic  power  of,  155;  how  teachers'  ideals  are 

to  be  formed,  159;  potency  of,  160;  Mr.  Quick  quoted,  160;  as 

motives,  160;  possession  by,  163;  in  art,  163. 
Industrial  education,  245. 
Inheritance  and  acquisition,  88-91. 
Inheritance,  cannot  be  alienated,  106. 
Intellectual  training,  the  first  condition  of  success,  166. 
Intrinsic  charm,  as  a  motive,  85. 

Jesus,  his  philanthrophy,  242,  243. 

Johnson's  Cyclopaedia,  quoted  on  mental  food,  69. 

Kindergarten,  its  place,  135;  conception  of,  242. 

Knowledge,  two  orders  of,  1,  221;  genesis  of,  28,  87-101;  Greek  con- 
ceptions of,  31 ;  as  food,  69 ;  progress  in,  from  apprehension  to  com- 
prehension, 76;  presentative  and  representative,  76;  of  past,  how 
possible,  76;  first-hand  and  second-hand,  76;  knowing  and  doing, 
how  related,  27,  278;  law  of  progress  in,  88-91;  test  of,  91-93; 
v&rstis  information,  92;  a  form  of  belief,  96;  two  theories  of,  97; 


INDEX.  353 

reproduced  without  the  aid  of  books,  189;  chiefly  second-hand, 
190;  vitality  of,  denied,  278. 
Krilsi,  his  examination,  253. 

Labor,  mental  and  manual  antagonistic,  24. 

Language,  the  teaching  instrument,  4,  231 ;  the  instrument  of  analysis, 

79;  with  its  classifications,  an  inheritance,  107. 
Latham,  his  classification  of  subjects,  38-40. 
Latin  grammar,  once  written  in  Latin,  172. 
Latino,  E.,  quoted,  5. 
Laurie,  S.  S.,  quoted  on  culture  value  of  science,  GO;  on  enthusiasm, 

112;  on  practical  teaching,  295;  on  instruction  in  doctrine,  306. 
Learning,  conceived  to  be  a  process  of  rediscovery,  188. 
Lecky,  quoted  on  secularization  in  politics,  200. 
"  Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  the,  240. 
Literature,  its  value,  59,  61. 
Luther,  on  teaching,  217. 

Man,  a  solitary  being,  119;  not  the  victim  of  environment,  40. 

Mann,  Horace,  on  the  power  of  the  teacher,  217. 

Marion,  quoted  on  pedagogy,  5;  on  narrowness,  21;  on  "Nature," 44; 
on  motives  and  mobiles,  112. 

Martineau,  Harriet,  quoted  on  patience,  73. 

"  Master  of  Arts,"  its  meaning,  259. 

Mathematics,  education  value  of,  34,  57,  61. 

Memorabilia,  quoted,  9. 

Memory,  its  office  in  mental  elaboration,  75;  domination  in  ancient 
education,  193;  its  use  in  education,  194;  is  conservative,  194; 
exact,  193. 

Mental  aliment,  how  distributed,  28,  69;  to  be  accumulated  in  ad- 
vance of  its  elaboration,  75;  derived  from  the  senses,  81. 

Mental  exercise,  two  modes  of,  73. 

Mental  growth,  31,  69-86;  what  determines  kind  of,  70;  automatic  and 
unconscious,  70,  71 ;  loss  of  identity  in,  71 ;  the  element  of  time, 
71;  how  aliment  is  distributed,  72;  exercise,  73;  a  progress  from 
confusion  to  definitude,  74;  from  apprehension  to  comprehension, 
76 ;  the  supply  of  aliment,  80. 

Mental  progression,  170. 

Mental  reaction,  first  by  resolution,  then  by  integration,  75. 

Method,  not  a  substitute  for  scholarship,  312;  in  normal  instruction, 
292;  uniformities  in,  should  be  merely  typical,  297;  defined,  301;  a 
means  of  teaching,  302-304. 

Mill,  J.  S.,  on  inference,  94;  on  the  use  of  books,  101. 

Milo  and  the  calf,  171. 

Mob,  has  no  brains,  114. 

Mobiles,  112. 


334  INDEX. 

Mobs,  disintegration  of,  tlie  problem  of  education,  161. 

Montaigne,  quoted  on  mental  digestion,  71. 

Morals,  how  related  to  knowledge,  165. 

Motives,  propulsive  and  attractive,  84;  intellectual  element  in.  111; 

ideas  colored  by  emotion,  160. 
Mundella,  on  the  secularization  of  the  school  in  France,  209. 

Narrow  constructionists,  68. 

"Nature,"  its  meaning,  26;  order  of,  43;  "beautiful  economy  of," 
44;  discussion  of,  138-156;  Dr.  Biber  on  the  meaning  of  the  term, 
138;  Bentham,  139;  E.  R.  Sill,  140;  examples  of  the  use  of  the 
term,  from  Comenius,  140;  from  Rousseau,  141;  from  Pestalozzi, 
141 ;  from  Froebel,  141 ;  from  Spencer,  141 ;  from  Joseph  Payne, 
142;  from  Aristotle,  143;  from  Plato,  143;  -wider  use  of  the 
term,  144;  order  of,  144;  what  it  is  to  "Follow  Nature,"  145;  a 
substitute  for  the  old  pantheism,  146;  conception  of,  illustrated, 
147-149;  contrasted  with  Art,  150;  as  a  teacher,  152;  in  disci- 
pline, brutal,  152. 

Naville,  qxioted,  43. 

Neutral  school,  the,  211. 

"New  Education," defined  by  F.  W.  Parker,  103,  133;  its  claims  on 
the  confidence  of  men,  129;  its  works,  134. 

Normal  school,  its  purpose,  10;  a  professional  school,  218;  of  per- 
manent value,  273;  not  a  competitor  with  the  university,  275, 
838;  its  field,  275;  what  it  fails  to  do,  275;  the  tendency  to  sub- 
divide, 275 ;  narrow  views,  275 ;  problem  of,  281 ;  still  in  an  ex- 
perimental stage,  281 ;  first  one  at  Lexington,  282 ;  a  necessity,  285; 
academic  instruction  in,  298,  299:  three  aims  of,  300;  definition 
of,  299;  professional  work  in,  305-307;  of  Michigan,  338,  339, 
345,  346. 

Observation  and  inference,  94. 

Occupations,  mental  and  manual,  12;  open  and  closed,  222. 

Opinion,  principles  for  the  formation  of,  20;  its  oscillation,  184;  and 

intelligence,  walking  by,  290. 
Orbis  Pictus,  237, 

Parker,  F.  W.,  quoted  on  the  "  New  Education,"  103. 

Patience,  not  a  negation,  73. 

Paul,  quoted  on  the  difference  between  a  child's  knowledge  and  a 

man's  knowledge,  74, 118. 
Payne,  Joseph,  on  Spencer's  pansophic  scheme,  55;  on  the  culture 

value  of  science,  60;  on  the  accumulations  of  mental  food,  75; 

his  use  of  the  term  "  Nature,"  142. 
Pedagogics,  is  there  such  a  science?  1;  its  material,  4. 
Pedagogue,  definition  of,  5. 


INDEX.  855 

Pedagogy,  as  distinguished  from  Pedagogics,  G ;  as  used  by  Com- 

payre,  5. 
Penmanship,  the  mental  element  distinguished  from  the  manual,  164. 
Persian  education,  133. 
Personal  bias,  danger  of,  283,  284. 
Pestalozzi,  quoted,  20;  on  the  car  of  progress,  113,  128;  his  use  of  the 

term  "Nature,"  141;  his  love  for  the  people,  238;  his  "Leonard 

and  Gertrude,"  240. 
Phrenology,  definition  of,  5. 
Physics,  its  value,  60. 

Physical  science,  not  a  culture  subject,  60;  psychology  in,  306. 
Physiology,  its  value,  59,  61. 
Plato,  quoted,  31;  his  use  of  the  term  "  Nature,"  143;  his  repugnance 

to  practical  studies,  190;  an  advocate  of  a  liberal  education,  197; 

definition  of  culture,  288. 
Pleasure  in  prospect,  as  a  motive,  85. 
Pleasure-giving,  as  a  test  of  good  teaching,  28. 
"Practical,"  meaning  of, 25. 
Practice  teaching,  278,  304-305,  338,  345,  346;  its  effect  on  culture, 

295. 
Preacher,  the,  and  the  teacher,  217. 
"Proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown,"  general  discussion  of 

the  maxim,  168-174;  objection  to,  170;  history  of,  171-173;  when 

applicable,  174. 
Profession,  a,  what  it  is,  219 ;  and  a  trade,  222 ;  a  closed  occupation,  222 ; 

how  it  protects  the  people,  222-233;  offers  rewards  to  men  of 

talent,  224. 
Professional  instruction,  its  theory,  278,  337. 
Professional  knowledge,  219,  222,  314. 
"Professor,"  its  meaning,  259. 
Professorships  of  education,  279,  337. 
Progress,  law  of,  88-91,  106,  191,  267;  three  phases  of,  104;  defined, 

111 ;  should  be  based  on  intellectual  motives,  112;  a  differentiation 

of  functions,  200. 
Psychology,  whether  there  is  an  infant,  18, 120-123:  its  laws  discov- 
ered, 123;  a  "new,"  not  probable,  124,  125;  basis  of  teaching, 

229,  314,  315. 
Public  school,  the.  must  teach  morality,  212;  must  abandon  religious 

instruction,  213. 

Question,  how  it  affects  the  mind,  71. 

Quick,  R.  H. ,  quoted  on  the  use  of  theory,  160. 

Quintilian,  quoted,  171. 

Reading  circle,  the,  331-333. 
Red  Indian,  42,  44. 


356  INDEX. 

Rediscovery,  pronounced  by  Mr.  Bain  a  "bold  fiction,"  188. 

Reflection  and  emotion,  105;  seldom  combined,  105. 

Reform,  a  restoration  of  rights,  243. 

Reformation,  the,  led  to  popular  education,  196. 

Refonners,  exaggerations  of,  20,  21. 

Reid,  Thomas,  quoted  on  the  formation  of  general  conceptions  by 

children,  79;  on  the  use  of  books,  99. 
Religion,  in  American  schools,  210. 
Renan,  quoted  on  the  culture  value  of  studies,  48;  on   reflective 

men,  105;  on  inheritance,  154. 
Renouvier,  on  Socrates,  203. 
Rewards,  offered  by  society,  225. 
Richter,  J.  P.,  on  instruction  that  anticipates  the  child's  age,  122;  on 

ideals,  163;  on  supporting  religion  by  reasons,  178. 
Roman  Catholics,  their  attitude  towards  the  public  school,  214-216. 
Rosenkranz,  his  "Pedagogics," 3. 
Rosetta  Stone,  171;  its  interpretation  a  type,  171, 172. 
Rousseau,  quoted,  20,  114, 128,  135;  his  use  of  the  terra  "Nature," 

141;  his  love  of  the  people,  235;  his  ^niile,  236;  on  habit,  296. 

Savage,  the,  his  education,  27;  his  mind, 82;  a  fair  specimen  of  "Na- 
ture's "  plan  of  education,  151 ;  his  mode  of  education,  151-153. 

Scholar,  Jewish  conception  of  a,  193. 

Scholarship,  determines  a  teacher's  power,  297,  298,  300. 

Science,  definition  of,  3;  contrasted  with  art,  11. 

Secularization  of  the  school,  191, 199-216;  in  England,  201;  of  learn- 
ing, causes  of,  202;  in  France,  207-209. 

Self-help,  in  three  lines,  316. 

Sense-training,  its  tendency,  27,  82. 

Sentiment,  something  surer  than  logic,  179 

Sill,  E.  R.,  on  the  term  "Nature,"  140. 

Socrates,  quoted,  8;  identified  knowledge  and  virtue,  161;  the  move- 
ment that  he  inaugurated,  184;  his  theory  of  teaching,  189. 

Spencer,  H. ,  quoted  20, 21,  28 ;  on  "  the  relative  values  of  knowledges," 
34-37;  his  theory  of  human  destiny,  45;  his  pansophic  scheme, 
55;  on  history,  63;  bis  doctrine  of  the  genesis  of  knowledge 
discussed,  87-101;  on  the  three  phases  of  progress,  104;  on  ex- 
tremes, 111;  his  use  of  the  term  "Nature,"  141;  narrow  spirit 
of  his  "Education," 245;  on  education  as  a  university  study, 
271,  272. 

Stapfer,  E.,  quoted  on  Jewish  schools,  193. 

State,  the,  as  an  educator,  212;  opposed  by  some  Protestant  bodies, 
215;  the  patron  of  the  normal  school,  218. 

Stewart,  Dugald,  on  the  culture  value  of  subjects,  49  on  style,  64; 
on  the  use  of  books,  100. 


INDEX.  357 

Subjects,  classified  as  permanent  and  progressive,  33 ;  art  and  knowl- 
edge, 39. 

Sully,  quoted  on  supply  of  aliment,  81 ;  on  habit,  295. 

Supervision,  school,  the  three  things  it  should  do,  228,  preparation 
for,  336,  337. 

Sympathy,  power  of,  illustrated,  239. 

Tablet,  the  New  York,  on  the  Bible  in  the  public-schools,  214. 

Tappan,  H.  P.,  on  the  functions  of  universities,  261;  on  the  priority 
of  their  establishment,  2G6. 

Taylor,  Isaac,  quoted  on  sense-training,  82. 

Teacher,  how  differentiated  from  the  scholar,  11,  228-231;  a  philan- 
thropist, 235. 

Teachers,  humane  treatment  of,  254,  255,  256;  law  for  the  employ- 
ment of,  268,  336;  short  tenure  of  ofQce,  290;  should  be  men  of 
science,  291. 

Teacher's  diploma,  345,  348. 

Teachers'  institutes,  the,  309-333;  its  purpose  to  supplement  the  nor- 
mal school.  310;  defined,  310;  its  limitations,  317;  cannot  give 
competence  in  subjects,  318;  faults  in  mstruction,  319;  type  of 
instruction,  320-322;  should  give  some  instruction  in  psychology, 
323;  instruction  by  lecture  preferable,  324;  need  of  recitation,  325, 
note-taking,  325;  class-work,  326;  classification,  327;  a  difficult 
problem,  828;  summary  of  aim  and  method,  329;  effect  on  com- 
munities, 330;  shortcomings,  330;  to  be  supplemented  by  the  read- 
ing circle,  331. 

Teaching,  a  purely  mental  art,  166;  as  a  profession,  217-234;  its  pro- 
fessional marks,  226-229,  269 ;  why  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  a 
profession,  231,  232;  why  a  strictly  closed  occupation,  232,  233; 
danger  from  making  it  a  profession,  247;  qualifications  for,  311- 
313;  progressive  conceptions  of,  287;  final  test  of,  287;  transient 
element  in,  290,  291 ;  recruitment  for,  336,  337. 

Tension  of  mind,  for  discipline  and  culture,  67. 

Things,  a  surfeit  of,  152. . 

University,  made  popular,  249;  grows,  257;  of  Edinburgh,  258;  an- 
cient condition  of  graduation  from,  259,  260;  a  teachers'  seminary, 
260;  prior  to  common  school,  266;  influence  upon  the  normal 
school,  275. 

[Jniversity  of  Michigan,  study  of  education  in,  335-347;  establish- 
ment of  chair  of  Education  in,  335-337:  courses  of  instruction, 
337,  341-346 ;  attendance  upon  courses,  344. 

Upham,  on  the  nature  of  knowledge,  96. 

Values,  education,  4,  31-68. 
Versatility,  in  teaching,  297. 


358  INDEX. 

Whately,  on  the  test  of  knowledge,  96. 
Whewell,  Dr.,  his  classification  of  subjects,  33, 177. 
Wholeness,  essential  to  culture,  59,  84. 
"Wisdom,  does  it  die  with  its  possessor?  29. 

Zoology,  its  value,  60. 


THE  E1T3>. 


BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

ny  of  tlie  following  books  sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of 
the  United  States  or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  tJie  pi-ice. 


Methods  of  Teaching. 

A  Hand-book  of  Principles,  Directions,  and  Working  Models  for 
Common-school  Teachers.  By  Jonx  Swett,  Principal  of  the  San 
Francisco  Girls'  High  School  and  Normal  Class.  12mo,  Half 
Leather,  $1  00. 

"  Every  teacher  may  derive  immediate  practical  benefit  from  its  perusaL" 
— F.  Louis  Soldan,  Prin.  St.  Louis  Normal  School. 

The  Teacher. 

Moral  Influences  Employed  in  the  Instruction  and  Government 
of  the  Young.  By  Jacob  Abbott.  Illustrated.  12mo,  Cloth, 
$100. 

A  book  intended  to  detail,  in  a  familiar  and  practical  manner,  a  system  of 
arrangements  for  the  organization  and  management  of  a  school,  based  on  the 
employment,  as  far  as  is  practicable,  of  Moral  Influences  as  a  means  of  ef- 
fecting the  objects  in  view. 

Gentle  Measures  in  Training  the  Young. 

By  Jacob  Abbott.    Illustrated.     12mo,  Cloth,  |1  00. 

There  are  few  questions  connected  with  the  early  education  of  children 
that  are  not  discussed  in  the  course  of  the  volume,  with  reference  to  the 
leading  principle  of  which  it  treats ;  each  topic  is  illustrated  by  a  variety  of 
examples  derived  from  practical  life ;  and  the  whole  treatment  of  the  sub- 
ject evinces  the  parental  wisdom  of  the  author,  his  deep  insight  into  the 
juvenile  nature,  and  his  large  experience  in  the  work  of  education. 

Browning's  Educational  Theories. 

An  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Educational  Theories.  By 
Oscar  Browning,  M.A.,  King's  College,  Cambridge,  England. 
ICmo,  Cloth,  50  cents. 

It  is  a  concise  and  popular  account  of  the  main  lines  of  thought  that  have 
been  followed  on  educational  subjects  from  ancient  times  to  our  own  day. 
Mr.  Browning  gives  a  chapter  to  education  among  the  Greeks ;  one  to 
Roman  education ;  to  Humanistic  education ;  the  Realists,  the  Naturalists, 
English  Humanists  and  Realists,  Locke,  the  Jesuits  and  Jansenists,  Rous- 
seau, Pestalozzi,  Kant,  Fichte,  and  Herbart,  and,  finally,  the  English  public 
school.    He  writes  clearly  and  pleasantly. 


2  Books  for  Teachers. 


Blaikie's  Sound  Bodies  for  our  Boys  and  Girls. 

By  William  Blaikie.   "With  Illustrations.   IGrao,  Cloth,  40  cents 

Mr.  William  Blaikie's  new  manual  cannot  fail  to  receive  a  warm  welcome 
from  parents  and  teachers,  and  should  be  introduced  as  a  working  textbook 
into  thousands  of  scliools  throughout  the  country.  ...  A  book  whicli  ought 
to  be  placed  at  the  elbow  of  every  school-teacher.  .  .  .  The  directions  are 
so  simple  and  sensible  that  they  appeal  to  the  reason  of  every  parent  and 
teacher. 

Manual  of  Object-Teaching. 

With  Illustrative  Lessons  in  Methods  and  the  Science  of  Educa- 
tion. By  N.  A.  Calkins,  Superintendent  of  Primary  Schools  of 
New  York  City.    12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

Primary  Object-Lessons. 

By  N.  A.  Calkins.  Subjects  Treated:  Elementary  Arithmetic. 
—  Reading  —  Phonetics.  —  Drawing.  —  Object  -  Lessons  —  Form, 
Coloi',  and  Size. — Simple  Lessons  on  the  Human  Body.  12mo, 
Cloth,  $1  00. 

Power  and  Authority  of  School  Officers  and  Teachers 

In  the  Management  and  Government  of  Public  Schools  and  over 
Pupils  out  of  School,  as  determined  by  the  Courts  of  the  Several 
States.  By  a  Member  of  the  Massachusetts  Bar.  16mo,  Cloth, 
75  cents. 

Kennedy's  The  School  and  the  Family. 

The  School  and  the  Family.  The  Ethics  of  School  Relations. 
By  JonN  Kennedy,  Ex-Instructor  in  Teachers'  Institutes.  16mo, 
Cloth,  75  cents. 

Studies  in  English  Literature. 

By  William  Swinton,  Author  of  "Harper's  Language  Series," 
and  Gold  Medallist  Paris  Exposition,  1878.  Embellished  with 
Portraits  and  Autographs.     8vo,  Cloth,  $1  20. 

It  is  a  series  of  studies  in  ilie  masters  of  English,  from  Shakespeare  to  the 
present  time.  The  authors  chosen  are  not  only  of  the  first  rank,  but  they 
also  represent  epochs  of  literature,  marked  phases  of  style,  distinctive  con- 
tributions to  literary  method. 

Higginson's  Larger  History  cf  the  United  States. 

A  Larger  History  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  the  Close  of 
President  Jackson's  Administration.  By  Thomas  Wentworth 
HiGGiNSON.  Illustrated  by  Maps,  Plans,  Portraits,  and  other  En- 
gravings,    pp.  xii.,  470.     8vo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 


Books  for  Teachers,  3 


Stonnonth's  English  Dictionary. 

A  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  Pronouncing,  Etymolog- 
ical, and  Explanatory:  embracing  Scientific  and  other  Terms, 
Numerous  Familiar  Terms,  and  a  Copious  Selection  of  Old  Eng- 
lish Words.  By  the  Rev.  James  STORMOifTH.  The  Pronuncia- 
tion Revised  by  the  Rev.  P.  H.  Phelp,  M.A.  pp.  xiv.,  1234. 
Imperial  8vo,  Cloth,  $6  00;  Half  Roan,  $7  00;  Full  Sheep,  $7  50. 
(New  Edition.) 

Seemann's  Mythology. 

The  Mythology  of  Greece  and  Rome,  -with  Special  Reference  to 
its  Use  in  Art.  From  the  German  of  O.  Seemann.  Edited  by  G. 
H.  BiANCHi,  B.A.,  late  Scholar  of  St.  Peter's  College,  Cambridge, 
Brotherton  Sanskrit  Prizeman,  1875.  With  64  Illustrations. 
16mo,  Cloth,  60  cents. 

Art  students,  both  professionals  and  amateurs,  will  be  grateful  for  the 
publication  of  "  The  Mythology  of  Greece  and  Rome,  with  Special  Reference 
to  its  Use  in  Art"  To  search  a  classical  dictionary  for  similar  material  is 
a  terrible  task,  and  one  which  does  not  yield  all  the  reward  desired ;  but  in 
tliis  little  book  of  three  hundred  pages  we  have  all  that  the  dictionaries  tell 
us — frequently  more — and  besides  this  we  learn  of  the  existing  art  works 
of  note  which  have  mythological  characters  for  their  subjects.  —  Christian 
Union,  N.  Y. 

An  admirable  little  book,  which  aims  at  giving — and  succeeds  in  giving 
— in  a  moderate  compass,  a  clear  and  readable  account  of  the  legends  which 
have  lent  a  color  to  all  literature,  its  special  advantages  lying  in  the  fact 
that  it  views  the  subject  as  a  whole,  and  so  avoids  the  disconnections  and 
repetitions  incident  to  dictionaries. — N.  Y.  World. 

Manual  Training. 

The  Solution  of  Social  and  Industrial  Problems.  By  Chahles 
H.  Ham.    Illustrated,     pp.  xxii.,  404.     12mo,  Cloth,  $1  50. 

The  book  is  one  of  deep  and  exceptional  value  in  its  clear  outline  of  the 
industrial  system,  its  fund  of  practical  suggestion,  and  its  application  of 
ethical  theories  to  the  advancement  of  society. — Boston  Evening  Traveller. 

This  is  a  highly  successful  presentation  of  a  subject  which,  though  com- 
paratively new,  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  public.  It  is  altogether  the 
ablest  and  most  thorough  discussion  of  manual  training  yet  published,  and 
it  cannot  fail  to  be  productive  of  valuable  results  in  promoting  larger  and 
sounder  views  of  the  functions  and  ends  of  education. — Albany  Press. 

It  is  a  book  full  of  wisdom  and  profitable  thought;  and  much  set  forth 
by  the  author,  if  practically  illustrated,  will  not  fail  to  bring  forth  good 
fruit. — Philadelphia  North  American. 

Great  value  the  book  assuredly  has.  It  marks  an  epoch  in  the  history  of 
education,  and  especially  of  American  education.  .  .  .  We  should  bespeak 
for  it  a  cordial  welcome  and  a  careful  consideration. — N.  Y.  World. 


SHAKESPEARE. 

"WITH  NOTES  BY  WM.  J.  KOLFE,  A.M. 


The'  Merchant  of  Tenice. 

The  Tempest. 

Jnlins  C»sar. 

Hamlet. 

As  Yon  Like  It. 

Henry  the  Fifth. 

Macbeth. 

Henry  the  Eighth. 

A  Midsummer-Night's  Dream. 

Richard  the  Second. 

Richard  the  Third. 

Much  Ado  About  Nothing. 

Antony  and  Cleopatra. 

Romeo  and  Juliet. 

OtheUo. 

Twelfth  Night. 

The  Winter's  Tale. 

King  John. 

Henry  IV.    Part  I. 

Henry  IV.    Part  II. 


King  Lear. 

The  Taming  of  the  Shrew. 

AU  's  WeU  That  Ends  Well. 

Coriolanus. 

Comedy  of  Errors. 

Cymbeline. 

Merry  Wires  of  Windsor. 

Measure  for  Measure. 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona. 

Lore's  Labour  's  Lost. 

Timon  of  Athens. 

Henry  VI.    Part  I. 

Henry  VI.    Part  U. 

Henry  VI.    Part  III. 

Troilus  and  Cressida. 

Pericles,  Prince  of  Tyre. 

The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen, 

Poems. 

Sonnets. 

Titns  Andronicus. 


Illustrated.     16mo,  Cloth,  66  cts.  per  Vol,  ;  Paper,  40  crs.  per  Vol. 


Price,  per  volume,  to  teachers  and  school  officers  for  ex- 
amination, Cloth,  42  cents  ;  Paper,  30  cents.  Correspon- 
dence regarding  terms  for  introduction,  &c.,  solicited. 


THE  FRIENDLY  EDITION 

OF 

SHAKESPEARE'S  WORKS. 

Edited  by  W.  J.  ROLFE. 

Twenty  Volumes.  Illustrated.  16mo.  Sold  only  in  Sets :  Sheets, 
$27  00 ;  Cloth,  GUt  Tops,  $30  00 ;  Half  Calf,  $60  00. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 
Any  of  the  above  works  sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the 
United  States  or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


& 


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